After renovations are complete the MacOdrum library will have a spiffy new addition—the Discovery Centre for Undergraduate Research and Engagement—which will aim to enhance student learning with technology and collaborative studying.
While the library was set to be fully operational by September 2013, various delays have set back the opening of some of the new spaces, according to associate librarian Valerie Critchley.
One of those spaces is the fourth floor Discovery Centre, slated to open at the beginning of October, according to the centre’s director Alan Steele.
“I hope it will become a highly used space for student collaboration,” Steele said.
Three additional rooms have been attached to the Discovery Centre: a learning laboratory, a digital media laboratory, and a gaming lab.
The gaming lab will allow for the use of the library’s video games on site, Steele said.
It will also allow students to test drive video games they make for class, or collaborate on the creation of new ones, he said.
One of the most innovative efforts to facilitate group collaboration in the centre is the addition of two 46-inch monitors on a wall, Steele said.
Students will be able to hook up phones, tablets, and computers—up to four at a time—which can be simultaneously displayed on the screen.
“With the introduction of this type of technology, we’re hoping to provide students a place where they can work collaboratively beyond the traditional sitting around a table,” Steele said.
The new centre will also include portable whiteboards for students to “throw ideas around,” Steele said.
For those students who want to stretch their legs and keep studying, “walk-study stations” will be available, Steele said.
Two treadmills, each with an adjustable desk, will allow students to read or use a tablet, phone, or laptop and walk at the same time.
The library has quotes for treadmills but has not purchased them yet, Steele said.
The office of the provost has budgeted $400,000 to support the activities of the Discovery Centre, according to Peter Ricketts, provost and vice-president (academic).
