Learn, achieve, grow…the motto of JMU exemplifies university commitment to putting students first; the new East Campus Library will follow through with this commitment by putting library users first through the provision of user-centered services...as part of the JMU Library System, the East Campus Library will focus on a number of objectives designed to provide services bringing ready access to the information resources necessary for research. In addition to design elements supporting flexible service provisions and providing for the ability to reconfigure space in support of changing programs and new technologies; the East Campus Library is committed to making the learning, teaching, collaboration, and reflection spaces in the new library a focal point for users through:

• Defining and implementing a learning commons model for library services
• Developing and implementing user-oriented space utilization plans
• Implementing tools to improve knowledge discovery, information retrieval and
  delivery
• Collaborating with faculty in designing instructional programs that emphasize
  information and technology literacy
• Strengthening and supporting programs and other partnerships with
  faculty
• Expanding faculty development programs

The Learning Commons Model of the East Campus Library implies shared ownership and responsibility for a space in which services are designed to support core information literacy skills and interconnected technology skills; rather than being offered in isolation from each other, the learning commons service model offers users the ability to receive assistance with all scholarship-related activities under one roof. The learning commons model affirms the commitment of JMU to the free exchange of ideas, the value of face-to-face interactions of all kinds, and the exploration of shared knowledge by fostering creativity and supporting interactions that result in learning. Parts of the building will include easily reconfigurable spaces, movable furniture, collaborative tools like white boards and large wall-mounted monitors, it is hoped that these elements will serve to bring unanticipated uses in the library community.

Another element that the Learning Commons Model brings to JMU is the potential for partnerships with other campus departments; the permanent occupants of the building will be the library services, the Center for Instructional Technology, and the Center for Faculty Innovation but the spaces may lend themselves to occupancy by other campus organizations like the Writing Center, Student Success, and Information Technology. The Learning Commons Model depends on a well trained team of librarians, library assistants, and professional support staff who are prepared to meet the wide variety of needs students, faculty and scholars have; as the needs for resources and services become increasingly varied and technologically complex; the Learning Commons Model will include the entire community in making decisions about what is needed for effective teaching and learning.

Key features of the Learning Commons Model will include:

• 75 networked computers and video viewing stations
• 45 group study rooms
• Individual, collaborative, and casual study spaces
• A 24-hour study space and computer lab
• A Java City cafe
• Two classrooms, one with hands-on computing capabilities for 30 students, for use by Libraries, CIT, and CFI
• Amazing views of the surrounding mountains as well as the famous blue stone campus

The East Campus Library has also had a redesign of the library homepage which incorporates the homepage of the East Campus Library; this redesign was based on input from faculty, staff, and students and was implemented in order to provide library users with an improved list of services and help resources and to provide clearer pathways to research tools, subject guides, and information. This redesign recognizes the increasing need on the part of library users not only to locate information but also to manipulate it. The incorporation of the RefWorks tool is an example of this need; RefWorks allows users to download bibliographic citations and use them to create their own collections, create bibliographies, and collaborate with other users.

In addition, all members of the JMU community may now request copies of journal articles and book chapters from any title held by JMU Libraries at no charge; these materials will be delivered electronically and processed within 24-48 hours. For titles not owned by JMU, Interlibrary Loan Services (ILL) are available. Online reference is also available to library users in the form of Ask a Librarian email reference or chat, questions are usually answered within 24 hours; users may also consult in person with a subject specialist librarian for more in-depth needs.

JMU also offers an Information Literacy Program which spans the four-year college experience. The library collaborates with instructional faculty to help students develop information literacy at two levels: Basic Skills and Skills in the Major Field of Study; the latter may consist of course instruction with a liaison librarian , instruction in using the Research Guides developed by the liaison librarian, or individual instruction by appointment with a liaison librarian. Additionally users of the library may access a number of Research Tutorials related to general questions, library research, and subject specific topics.

The JMU Libraries also offer Faculty Development Opportunities through annual workshops and provide a gateway to resources for faculty at the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy .


The information above was compiled from the James Madison University Libraries website at:

http://www.lib.jmu.edu/
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/east/

JMU East Campus Library opening Monday, August 11th 2008…

James Madison University (also known as JMU) is a public research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, JMU originally consisted of two buildings modeled after the Renaissance concept of the ideal city, today, the campus of JMU consists of one hundred and two buildings situated in six hundred fifty-five acres of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley; the campus is divided into east/west sections which are connected by a bridge and a tunnel underneath Interstate 81. The east side of the JMU campus is home to The College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT), as well as to The Chemistry and Physics Building (home to both the Chemistry Department and the Department of Physics and Astronomy ); soon construction will begin on a new biotechnology building.

The seed for the beginnings of The College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT) came in response to the 1988 Virginia General Assembly's creation of the Commission on the University of the 21st Century which was driven by concern for changing social and economic orders throughout the world. The report asked "that each state-supported institution be directed, and each independent institution be requested, to develop a detailed plan in response to this report and about its own view of the future by June 30, 1991..." In response, JMU established the Commission for a Greater University and a proposal to establish a new College of Applied Science and Technology; renamed The College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT), it incorporated two computer science programs and a new and innovative Integrated Science and Technology program consisting of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Sciences, and Nursing and Social Work ; the Geographic Information Sciences program was added in 1995 and the Psychology Department (undergraduate and graduate programs) and the Department of Kinesiology became part of the College in 2001.

The establishment of the new College demanded a library and the CISAT library was established in the Health and Human Services Building; as the college continued to grow, it soon became apparent that the space was too small to address the growing needs of students and faculty and it became a necessity to focus on the expansion of the library.

In 2002, a bond referendum was approved to fund a new library conceived as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, JMU’s Carrier Library . Construction began on the $22.7 million, 106,000 square foot East Campus Library in October 2006, with The Design Collective of Baltimore, Maryland serving as architects of the five-story building designed to answer to two critical needs at JMU: the need for increased collection space for science, technology, and health sciences resources and the need for technology-rich study spaces in which students and faculty can collaboratively use information resources.

The East Campus Library will be home to the JMU science and technology collections, including all circulating books in the Q, R, S, and T call numbers, paper journals of interest in science, technology, and health sciences, and media titles supporting east campus curricula; the library will also house a reference collection supporting not only east campus programs but also the needs of general researchers; the library will be open to students and faculty from all academic programs and all community members.

Conceived as a space which will combine traditional book stacks and study spaces with open study areas offering views of the campus and distant mountains; an Information Commons on the first floor will provide users with access to information resources and new media, as well as media production technology and support services. The building will incorporate study spaces for both individuals and small groups; open study areas will be furnished with casual seating and a section of the building will be open for 24-hour use with a secure entrance, study seating, a computer lab, and a coffee bar.

Most of the library’s fifth floor will be devoted to faculty support, and will house the Center for Instructional Technology and the Center for Faculty Innovation, which provides programs to promote faculty innovation in teaching and scholarship. A faculty seminar room will also be on the top floor in order to provide formal meeting space.

The information above was compiled from the James Madison University website at:

http://www.jmu.edu/