On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Office of Information Technology at Indiana University Northwest will celebrate the formal opening of the new Information Commons on the first floor of the Library Conference Center. The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will be followed by light refreshments, will be held at 1 p.m. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend this celebration and learn about all that the new Information Commons has to offer the university’s students.
The Information Commons is located in a reconfigured space on the library’s first floor. It consists of 24 computer work stations with large monitors. The stations are partitioned and topped with canopies that help to reduce sound. Adjacent to the Commons is an Adaptive Technology Room with workstations for students with disabilities. There are also work stations for the library’s community patrons. The stations are outfitted with ergonomic chairs. Scanners are also available for use at the Commons workstations.
Other amenities include large display monitors that may be used by small groups, free black-and-white and color printing for students, a Service Help Desk with library and IT staff, a full array of online resources and software applications, and interlibrary loan materials that are available to patrons via the new Online ILLiad system. Also, laptops are now available for checkout by students (for use in the library only). The Information Commons also features comfortable reading chairs and furniture, and it is adjacent to the university’s CyberCafé, which offers an additional eight computers for student use.
This renovation for the Library Conference Center was completed just in time for a record jump in the university’s enrollment, and the Information Commons offers students another alternative to the heavily used campus computer labs found elsewhere at IU Northwest, according to Library Director Tim Sutherland. It also offers students more personal space at their stations than do some of the other labs that contain a greater number of machines.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting event for the new Information Commons will be IU Northwest Chancellor Bruce Bergland, Chief Information Officer for IT Beth Van Gordon, Student Government Association President Jessica Flores, and Sutherland. The campus community is invited to join the celebration. Refreshments will be provided.