This Monday, Georgetown University Library hosted an information session on the creation of a new Student Library Council that will allow students on the Main Campus and from the School of Continuing Studies to evaluate the services of the Lauinger and Bloomer libraries.
The council is expected to have 20 student representatives, as well as two members appointed by GUSA and the Graduate Student Organization.
“The best way for us to discover what our users want and need is to hear from them directly,” said Jenny Smith, coordinator of communications, outreach, and programming for the library. “This isn’t a new goal for us by any means, but simply a new way to achieve what has always been at the core of our mission.”
Previously, the library received suggestions through the University’s IdeaScale website, from student representatives on the Faculty Library Advisory Committee, and through ad hoc conversations with staff members. These methods will continue to be used, but the council is expected to facilitate the library’s follow-up process on feedback it receives.
Library employees believe that the creation of the council will also help attract students to underutilized resources, such as its research consultations and Gelardin workshops.
“At the beginning of the year, students have no idea how to use the library, and it has a lot of resources that students just don’t know about,” said Alyssa Lazzeroni (COL ’15), a supervisory student assistant who has worked for two years in the library. “As somebody who deals with the students, I want them to understand [the library] better.”
The creation of the council follows a number of changes that the library has introduced this semester.
“We now have nine new monitors that students can use like the [Hariri building’s] breakout rooms,” said Aaron Williams, Systems Administrator of the Library’s Information Technology department. “They can connect their laptops and do collaborative group work. Seven of those are rooms that they can reserve through the website.”
Other technological upgrades include the installation of the geo-information services software ArcGIS on all the library computers, as well as the addition of a book scanner on the third floor, an idea that originated from a student request on IdeaScale.
Additionally, the second floor of Lauinger will soon feature a larger study space. Furniture and carpeting are being installed in the next one to two weeks where periodicals used to be located.
Applications for the council are due Friday, September 20.
