Grappling with the Concept of The School Library as a Learning Commons:
A Meeting of the Vancouver School Board's
School Library Resource Centre Consultative Committee (SLRCCC)
In April 2011, the Vancouver School Board's School Library Resource Centre Consultative Committee met to consider the terms and parameters for Learning Commons in various contexts, including schools. Reports were heard from post-secondary institutions UBC and SFU, from the Vancouver Public Library, from the Project Managers for VSB Facilities, and from the Coquitlam School District #43.
VPL: Randy Gatley, VPL's Teen Services Librarian, told committee members that budget considerations and service change is driving a quick plan to develop the 5th floor as a Learning Commons. This plan will tie the Learning Commons to the online Digital Information Services division and the current plan is for extra individual computer space, reconsideration of the computer lab, and the elimination of the Reference Desk in favour of a newspaper lounge, more computers, and a new reading area. Public input was garnered through an Open House; results suggested a need for quiet study space, computer access, especially for word processing, e-book help, and a focus on the basics of computer use. In response to questions, Randy also indicated there would be a Sony pilot for e-readers and they will be working with publishers to try to increase access to in-demand content.
SFU: Yousefi reported that, in addition to their existing Learning Commons that secondary TLs viewed last year, they have undertaken a further innovative re-visioning process. Their 2nd floor now has a Research Commons for grad students and faculty. There is a focus on collaborative spaces, flexible technology, help with grant-writing or with presentation, etc.
UBC: Chris Ball reported that, in addition to the Chapman Learning Commons, there are new designs for how libraries function more as Learning Commons in the Sauder Building, in the new David Lam Law Library, and Koerner is in the design process. UBC has launched into a 40% reduction of collection sizes on campus, relocating materials with SFU at a high-density storage facility at UBC. They are recognizing a need for students to have quiet space for learning.
Coquitlam School District: Library and Information Services Consultant Heather Daly shared the district's vision of Learning Commons based of five facilities under renewal or being built. Neighbourhoods of Learning (NoL) space is blended into school library classroom space. Some collections (such as Aboriginal Ed with its own professional library) have been added to create joint-use facilities. Newer sites are being designed with an eye to differentiated spaces, as for example, post-secondary partnerships inside the school and specialized service spaces, like Science. The District's approach is to re-calibrate current sites in its focus on updating them.
Virtual services are strong in the Coquitlam leaning commons model. My43 is supporting development of a mix of open and closed digital access for staff and students. Virtual school library needs to be built within the context of the classrooms and other instructional spaces, inside the virtual school. There is a school library component of virtual school; built in Sharepoint, each school has a public and an intranet space with its own template. The virtual classrooms are closed; only those with access rights can see the content. This is meant to mirror how access works in the physical world; individuals can’t just walk into physical classrooms during the day and start looking around.
M. Ekdahl observed that computer labs for the school library might be seeing a shift to other uses like multimedia production centres, innovative teaching centres, etc., a point that Alex Grant would make again in his report that follows. The Neighbourhood Learning Centre (NLC) factor offers the school library a much larger learning space. Shared sites are not joint-use (that is, shared with public libraries). Interlibrary loans are informal, at the discretion, and with respect to the autonomy, of the TL.
Vancouver School District #39: Bob Moore reported that there is an allowance for new school libraries that is exceeded by existing facilities at 240 square metres. There is also currently some flexibility with space for Media/Tech use in school library allocations. Recent designs (Acadia Road, UHill, Douglas, and Kitchener) include each small learning community with its own integral teaching and learning space. There is enough space for a school common area often adjacent to the library; for example, the multipurpose room at Kitchener and the entry area at Douglas. The relationship to the library is ambiguous at this time. There could be presentation space, space for author talks and media presentations with risers, or story space.
Each build/reno factors in the need to ensure that access to technology is pervasive. Wired and wireless is being built in but also they are keeping an eye out for the mobile computing idea and are not being tied to labs. The physical infrastructure to house computers is being left behind. Technology is attached to the kids and is not just the kids traipsing to the computers. Trying to supplement library space with Media/Tech and NLC is very much a part of the VSB planning process.
The hope is to increase transparency and change the notion of the supervision-centric school experience for students and teacher. Multiple responsible adults are available and it will be important to start spreading students out across the site and the spaces.
Moira Ekdahl pointed out that the more open notion of the school-library-as-learning-commons is strongly developing at John Oliver and Gladstone, with administrative support. But new buildings are not a transformative experience, particularly when the practice and comfort-level of teachers with change is not adjusted for. The community participants need time and support to adjust. Kitchener teachers had the experience of anticipating change and changed practice in their Teacher Inquiry experience.
Gino Bondi said that JO is looking to use the library as the starting place to change the whole school experience. How can the library be central to teachers and provide new learning directions? How can it become a centre for innovative teaching and meaningful learning through inquiry?
Mary Locke raised the question, What exactly do we mean by a Learning Commons? The parameters of what a Learning Commons is needs to be sought out and defined.
Val Overgaard agreed that defining our expectations are the goal of this discussion and suggested that a small working group of SLRCCC be created, with Audrey van Alstyne as co-ordinator. The goal would be to assemble a one page description of Learning Commons and to agree upon criteria that describe them and key steps in the development process to help with this shift; there seems to be agreement around more open space, access to technology, flexibility of use of space, less stuff, and fewer walls or blocks.
Alex Grant feels the focus must be on a space for students and adults that is not necessarily locked up for the ownership of some people as a classroom.
Maureen Ciarniello added that any conversation about what a Learning Commons could be would need to include classroom teachers. What does it mean for the school libraries and the teacher-librarians? And also what does it mean for kids and teachers?
Sylvia Zubke described how she has changed her practice and space this year to make a more welcome space by inviting students to do peer teaching to enliven the library space at the elementary school, adding a Lego table and a doll house, all with the message: “Go, touch and do.” It was easy at Livingstone because of the established collaborative environment. The collaborative environment needs to come first. Learning Commons will come after the staff create opportunities for the shared experiences. Staff/student attitude is the first step, not the after thought.
Moira Ekdahl also added that it must begin with examining practice and the continuum of control; there needs to be re-design in teaching and learning, before you can re-design the space. What distinguishes the Learning Commons from a student commons is the teacher-librarian. Moira is developing this new web space to help shape our understandings about the form and capacity of the school library and the transformation processes to a Learning Commons.
Teacher-librarians present at SLRCCC also considered how their programs and practices were aligned with ideas they had considered for Learning Commons; there was agreement they are already doing a lot of it.
