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The Library Research Building
By Brian MathewsJuly 12, 2015
You’re probably familiar with the concept of the dedicated Research Library — UCLA has a nice one. My dean and I have been soft pitching a new variation, which we call the Library Research Building.
Hunt Library’s Creativity Studio, a high-tech “white box” space that runs the most advanced version of the Navy’s Mariner Skills Simulator.
The idea came to me when visiting
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You’re probably familiar with the concept of the dedicated Research Library — UCLA has a nice one. My dean and I have been soft pitching a new variation, which we call the Library Research Building.
Hunt Library’s Creativity Studio, a high-tech “white box” space that runs the most advanced version of the Navy’s Mariner Skills Simulator.
What if we could develop building focused on spaces and services for researchers? Just as you can check out a book or a laptop – what if you could check out a workspace for you and your team (center, institute, lab, etc) for an extended period of time?
We imagine that the majority of such a building would be designated for limited-term grant projects. Spaces could be customized for the particular size of the group and their related needs. These flexible rooms could be used for a period of one to five years, and would provide faculty and graduate assistants with ideal accommodates for sponsored research projects. An emphasis or priority could be given to interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary projects, or some other theme.
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The Libraries (along with other partnerships) would provide the necessary support and infrastructure for the residents. They would also provide personalized assistance and build a cohort program specifically for the people in the space. For example, extra attention might be given helping pre-tenure faculty.
This approach offers a neutral location (not owned by a particular College or Institute) that could stimulate new forms of science, scholarship, and creative expression.
Along with workspace, such a building could also serve as a centralized location for related services such as data management hosting and planning, intellectual property education and consultations, publishing services, IRB work, grant support, project management, modeling and visualization, and numerous other needs and requirements. We imagine a conglomeration of units on campus having a stake and cooperatively offering services and training.
The facility would also feature some general commons areas open to all faculty, even if they do not have a workspace in the building. This could include a quiet reading lounge and collaborative areas, teleconferencing, dry labs, meeting rooms, media labs, flexible seminar rooms, and visualization screens.
