Jill Beard

Library design, learning spaces and academic literacy

Purpose – To acquire academic literacy students need library buildings that take account of “what the student does”, changing learning styles and preparation for employment in a digital world. Equally as academic staff develop innovative e‐learning activities, library spaces need to accommodate new learning opportunities. This paper aims to consider how the design of library buildings contributes to a complex and evolving range of academic literacies and emerging pedagogical frameworks. The paper also seeks to consider the contribution these literacies make to the experience of students reading for a degree in an increasingly digital environment.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the experience at Bournemouth University, where a higher education academy‐funded project accelerated the introduction of new technologies into learning and teaching frameworks. A new library building, The Sir Michael Cobham Library, enabled the creation of learning spaces that are flexible and responsive to the cha...

Redesigning Services for the Net-Gen and Beyond: A Holistic Review of Pedagogy, Resource, and Learning Space

Oblinger and Oblinger (2005) described the Net Generation or Net Gen, who have never known life without the Internet. They note the incremental nature of change: “One generations technology is taken for granted by the next” (p. 2.1). In a world increasingly dominated by technology, the academic library has become a place to learn that is constantly adapting and changing, reflecting “what the student does” (Biggs, 2007). Pathfinder funding from the Higher Education Academy has enabled Bournemouth University (BU) to explore the pedagogies of learning in a hybrid environment and consider how Web 2.0 technologies within a virtual learning environment contribute to the acquisition and development of academic literacy skills. Good library design demonstrates agility and adaptability in the use of space (Heppel et al., 2004). Virtual environments enable integration of resources within the unit of study. Subject librarians, academics, and learning technologists are developing new ways of working together to deliver resources. The rate of change is exponential but is full of opportunity (“Libraries Unleashed,” 2008). In 2009 Bournemouth University will open a new library for postgraduate business students without any books, but with each student equipped with an e-book reader. This article will discuss the academic skills and learning spaces students will need to read for a degree in an environment that is predominantly electronic.

The impact of e‐resources at Bournemouth University 2004/2006

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to survey the impact of electronic resources on the learning and teaching community of Bournemouth University.Design/methodology/approach – Action research was used over a two‐year period, with the results from one academic school were compared the following year with the results from two other schools.Findings – The findings in the paper show how the use of, and enthusiasm for, electronic resources is widespread amongst students and staff.Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the effectiveness and value in using action research to assess service offerings.

The quality assurance of Healthinfo4u: a Web‐based Internet resource for the lay public

Describes how the British Library Co‐operation and Partnership Programme and a consortium led by Bournemouth University funded a research study to work with public libraries to enhance access to quality‐assured health information for the lay public. The study ran between July 2001 and March 2003. The resulting demonstrator product was Healthinfo4, a unique Web‐based resource developed and designed specifically for the lay public. Focuses on how the internal and external quality assurance and evaluation of the research study was achieved

ASK: a virtual enquiry desk – a case study

A review of a five‐year project to design, implement, promote and evaluate a virtual enquiry desk in a new British University. The service specification, target audience and process of development are documented and discussed. The results of an evaluative survey of 30 users reveal that rather than distance or part‐time students, the majority of users are full‐time undergraduate students submitting questions within 15 miles of the University during core opening times. It is clear that the Library is still operating within a “hybrid” rather than purely electronic environment, and the implications of this for partner colleges are considered. The paper concludes with some pointers for the future of a service that is now firmly established as part of the subject advice service offered to Bournemouth University students 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

E-books and Virtual Learning Environments: Responses to a Transformational Technology

ABSTRACT The influx of Digital Natives into higher education, combined with the introduction of virtual learning environments as the primary means of interaction between students and universities, will have a transformational effect on learning and on library services. This article examines the e-book marketplace and the main UK responses to it (the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortiums tender and the JISC e-books observatory project). Within this context, the innovative measures already taken by Bournemouth University are discussed, as are plans to develop innovative pedagogic frameworks and an e-reading strategy through a Higher Education Academy–funded pathfinder project: Innovative E-Learning with E-Resources (eRes).