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The Information Or the Learning Commons: Which Will We Have?1 Editorial: The Information or the Learning Commons: Which Will We Have?1 by Scott Bennett ho would today build or renovate an academic library librarians and academic computing staff cannot alone create a Wwithout including an information commons? As learning commons, as they serve but do not define institutional Charles Forrest tells us, “in the last decade infor- mission. Other academic units do that and must join librarians mation commons have made a sudden, dramatic, and wide- and technologists in creating a learning commons. The funda- spread appearance in academic and research libraries across the mental difference between the information and the learning country and around the world.”2 Indeed, the information commons is that the former supports institutional mission while commons has in many ways come to substitute for the card the latter enacts it. catalog as a principal means of defining space as library space. How does one move from supporting to enacting institu- At the same time, we have exhibited considerable uncer- tional mission, from the support of learning to learning itself? tainty about what to call these spaces. The information Good counsel is available from Jeanne Narum, Director of commons and learning commons are by far the most common Project Kaleidoscope, who observes that “too often, planning names, but the words academic, collaboration, teaching, tech- for new spaces … begins with the wrong questions”—questions nology, and media often appear in names, along with or in the about what and how much will go in the space. Such questions place of information and learning.3 Curiously, the word service usually yield answers relating to things (books and computers, is not used even though librarians think of themselves as service for instance) and services (help with reference questions and the professionals and the convenience of “one-stop” shopping for use of technology in the case of the information commons). services is often proclaimed as a principal attraction of the Narum understands the importance of these questions but commons. argues that “when they shape the initial stages of planning, the So what have we actually been building? Donald Beagle process is skewed. You will not end up with the building that provides a helpful way of distinguishing between the informa- you need, that your students deserve.” The right first questions tion and the learning commons. The former he defines as “a focus instead “on student learning—what actually is to happen cluster of network access points and associated IT tools situated in the classroom and lab” and, one may add, in the learning in the context of physical, digital, human, and social resources commons.5 The key, then, is to replace our typical first question organized in support of learning.” The purpose of the inform- about what should be in a space with the less typical question, ation commons is to support learning—a service mission. By what should happen in the space. contrast, Beagle defines the learning commons as what happens This is a profoundly important difference, as even a brief when the resources of the information commons are “organized assessment of information and learning commons using in collaboration with learning initiatives sponsored by other Beagle's definitions shows. academic units, or aligned with learning outcomes defined It is of course relatively easy to create the “network access through a cooperative process.”4 The learning commons, so points and associated IT tools” characteristic of the commons, defined, depends for its success not only on joint action by but the needed “human resources” are somewhat harder to support/service units (such as the library and academic com- marshal. A survey of such facilities indicated they are staffed puting) but also on the involvement of academic units that with librarians in 88 percent of cases and information tech- establish learning goals for the institution. Properly understood, nology staff in 71 percent of cases—suggesting a significant difference in access to these two kinds of information service providers. The available evidence about cross training and Scott Bennett is Yale University Librarian Emeritus, and Senior collaboration among service providers is not positive. Asked Advisor, Council of Independent Colleges, USA whether cross training among those with different professional <[email protected]>. backgrounds was necessary to the success of the commons, 82 The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 34, Number 3, pages 183–185 May 2008 183 percent of survey respondents answered “yes.” Yet library staff are hard things to do, but aiming at anything less will produce a got such cross training in only 73 percent of the cases, compared commons that, while almost surely useful, will likely fall short of to a modest 41 percent for information technology staff. This what our institutions need and our students deserve. suggests a lopsided, though not a completely one-way colla- boration. When asked what degree of collaboration between NOTES AND REFERENCES staff with different professional backgrounds was necessary to ensure the success of the commons, only 14 percent of survey 1. ©Scott Bennett, 2007. Readers of this paper and librarians may “ ” copy it without the copyright owner's permission if the author and respondents answered full. The remaining 86 percent reported publisher are acknowledged in the copy and the copy is used for success built on only “substantial” (55 percent), “moderate” (27 6 educational, not-for-profit purposes. percent), or “minimal” (4 percent) collaboration. 2. Charles Forrest and Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, “Beyond Classroom Turning to collaboration with other academic units focused on Construction and Design: Formulating a Vision for Learning learning outcomes, student success, and other issues of Spaces in Libraries,” Reference and User Services Quarterly, 44:4 institutional mission—considerations critical to a learning (Summer 2005): 296. commons—the picture is mixed. On the positive side is the fact 3. Information from responses to a survey conducted by the author of that student tutoring and faculty development staff are included in libraries identified as having information commons; for more information see Scott Bennett, “Designing for Uncertainty: Three commons in 59 percent and 25 percent of cases, respectively. But ” these staff appeared to be somewhat isolated within the commons, Approaches, Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33:1 (Jan 2007): 165–179. as they were involved in cross training in only 32 percent and 11 7 4. Donald Robert Beagle, with Donald Russell and Bailey Barbara percent of cases, respectively. More telling is survey data from Tierney, The Information Commons Handbook (New York: Neal 122 of the library directors who attended the information literacy Schuman, 2006), p. xviii. workshops sponsored in 2004 and 2005–2006 by the Council of 5. Jeanne Narum, “Building Communities: Asking the Right Ques- Independent Colleges and the National Institute for Technology tions,” Project Kaleidoscope (2002), emphasis added. Available: and Liberal Education (NITLE).8 While an impressive 93 percent http://www.pkal.org/documents/BuildingCommunitiesAskingThe of these library directors described their institutions as encoura- RightQuestions.cfm (25 September 2007). Narum provides an ging a campus-wide climate of collaboration, that encouragement excellent general review of sources on the design of learning spaces in “Transforming the Physical Environment for Learning,” Change, had limited impact on collaboration among curricula designers, – faculty, librarians, academic advisors, and computing staff— 36:5 (Sept/Oct 2004): 62 66. This issue of Change includes several other articles discussing aspects of current teaching and learning which the library directors reported as existing on only 59 percent 9 practices and their intersection with technology. of their campuses. Collaboration among faculty, librarians, and 6. All the data reported in this paragraph are from “Designing for other academic support staff has long been understood to be a key Uncertainty,” pp. 167–168. 10 factor in successful information literacy programs and is the 7. Ibid. I focus here only on librarians and information technology distinguishing factor in Beagle's definition of the learning staff, although student tutoring and AV/media staff and other commons. student services and faculty development staff also work in infor- These data suggest that we have a long way to go if we mean to mation commons in a varying but sometimes significant number of build learning commons, as Beagle defines them—if we mean to cases. 8. For an account of these survey data, see Scott Bennett, “Campus get beyond the support of learning that defines the information ” commons. How will we know we have succeeded in building Cultures Fostering Information Literacy, portal: Libraries and the Academy, 7:2 (Apr 2007): 147–167. learning commons? Beagle's answer to this question lies with the 9. These data were gathered before the workshops. The same two deep involvement of academic units in their design and questions about collaboration were asked in a follow-up survey operation, units that do not simply support but enact the about a year after each workshop. At that time, the same responding education mission of the college or university. Another, closely library directors characterized their campuses as encouraging related answer springs from how we answer the first question of collaboration
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