Organized Spontaneity: The Learning Commons

Abstract

The transition from an information center to a learning commons requires a focus on design elements that extend a user focus beyond services into new considerations of how patrons are interacting with information while occupying a particular physical space. The learning commons incorporates and promotes space that reinforces learning, imagines services as a menu of options, and acknowledges and supports the success of library users in their academic pursuits. This case study builds on the concept of “organized spontaneity” that serves both as an underlying philosophy or attitude toward library space and as a primary design feature of the transition.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning commons
• organized spontaneity
• space design