The Emergent Information Commons: Philosophy, Models, and 21st Century Learning Paradigms

ABSTRACT

The learning support role of the Information Commons exhibits emergent properties characteristic of organizational learning theory. The literature review highlights four articles from the United States, one from Germany, and one from Japan to illustrate the issues involved. The philosophy of the commons extension across physical, virtual, and cultural domains and the development of the Learning Commons as a collaboration among multiple learning support units, including libraries, are traced from theoretical origins through real-world examples. “Integrative learning” is offered as one example of a 21st century learning paradigm being supported by such collaborations, as evidenced by the development of commons-based e-portfolio systems.

This article originally published in Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 50, Issue 1, pages 7–26, 2010. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01930820903422347.

KEYWORDS:

• Information Commons
• information literacy
• integrative learning
• learning centers
• Learning Commons
• library reconfiguration

Acknowledgments

The Learning Commons at Belmont Abbey College has been supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.