My visit to the Ikenberry Residence Hall was wonderful! This tour was especially of interest to me as one of my responsibilities include being a Hall of Residence (HRL) Librarian. We do not have a physical space on the halls but try to create an outlet for students to have one on one with their “personal librarian.” I do love the idea of having a physical space on the hall and would love this to be replicated at my university.
The whole concept of a creative space that has programming geared directly to undergraduates is really appealing. I am sure this would be a “hit” at our university. Our programming tends to center on information literacy and really does not cater to fun ideas. As such, the programming was of interest to me and a some of these ideas may be reproduced on a small scale. The university has a “UWI LEADS” program that is administered by the Office of Student Services, it would be a wonderful opportunity for the HRL Librarians to collaborate and do a program with this group. Resources from the library could be highlighted.
Of particular interest to me was the different formats of items that were on loan at the Ikenberry Residence Hall Library. It would be great to have items such as playaways, videos, cds, games etc. on loan in my university library. This would definately help to reach and captive our undergraduate clients. The library should be seen as a place of relaxation instead of the imposing structure that is only meant for academic pursuits. The use of incentives for programming is also something that I would like to be done at my university library.