But Do We Have Room For That?

Abstract

Several years ago, our library repurposed an unusefully-sized storage space (an 8 x 30-foot room) into a space for office hours and small-group tutorials for lower division courses in a large academic department whose print needs are minimal. We didn't expect that the room would get the kind of use it does, with dozens of hours a week of instructor presence and many crowded help sessions throughout each term. , , Two years later, we started a renovation project, and other departments asked: can we have a space like that? Can we keep course reserves in it? Can we keep other things there too?, , This presentation will discuss the costs, opportunities, and challenges to creating spaces whose use falls outside of traditional library activities despite that library space is at a premium, and why it was worthwhile for us to proceed as well as how we're bringing library-ness back into the rooms.,