Fostering a Community of Scholars at the University of Warwick: The Wolfson Research Exchange

Abstract

This article focuses on the University of Warwick's Wolfson Research Exchange which opened in October 2008. It describes the varied environment that the facility offers to Warwick's research community, and explores the service model provided. The new approaches to learning space design and the students’ expectations that informed and influenced the Research Exchange's creation (as well as its ongoing service development) are also discussed. This case study provides an overview of the Research Exchange's developments, successes, and lessons learned which could be applicable to other institutions exploring dedicated spaces and support for their research communities.

Keywords:

• academic libraries
• learning spaces
• research support
• researchers
• service

Notes

CURL-SCONUL Research Spaces Seminar on 9 June 2006, at the University of Birmingham.

www.go.warwick.ac.uk/researchexchange