The following story will appear in the upcoming e-newsletter Perspectives. I am leaving Perspectives to concentrate my writing efforts on the McMaster Libraries Staff Newsletter (to be given a new name later in the year..!)
Photo: left to right: Chad Fullerton, Alireza Akbari, Ali Al-Tahan, Neethan Kanthasamy, Piragath Mahalingam, Kumaran Sivakumaran, and Mehran Reza
This seemed like a good opportunity to show my appreciation to all the hardworking individuals (especially the Student Consultants) who make this McMaster community space thrive. The Learning Commons wouldn't be the success it is without them.
One of my favourite places in the library is the Mills Learning Commons. It is now 2 years old and continues to improve and evolve with the changing library landscape. The Commons is located within the McLay Reading Room (named after Walter Scott William McLay). McMaster Libraries held an Open House for this new space on October 6, 2006. Since then, the Learning Commons Project has received the McMaster Students Union's Rudy Heinzl Award of Excellence. The award "recognizes an outstanding one year achievement which improves the lives of McMaster students." This year, the Learning Commons was recognized by the Project Management Institute as GovSIG Project of the Year.
This unique area of Mills provides students with a space to continue the process of learning that begins in the classroom; they come to learn individually or in groups with access to expert help when and how they need it. It was funded by the Refining Directions fund and a generous gift fromMcMaster alumni Alan and Brenda Wong. McMaster University Libraries played a large part to bring the Learning Commons to life, but they also partnered with the Centre for Leadership in Learning, the Centre for Student Development, University Technology Services and Facility Services (previously known as Physical Plant).
Over the past two years, I have watched this area evolve and increase in popularity with McMaster students. One of the most important factors contributing to its continuing success is the staff of approximately twenty students who work on the IT Help Desk in the centre of McLay. It can be easy to overlook and under appreciate the important service support we receive from dedicated and enthusiastic McMaster students who join our team (as well as other teams and departments all across campus). Their time at McMaster is devoted to excelling in their studies, and yet, a select group of individuals also choose to be employees of the university.
The Student Consultants and Senior Student Consultants (staff who answer questions at the IT Help desk) are hired and managed by Michael Curwin, University Technology Services. Many students choose to stay in the job for the duration of their degree. A Consultant’s superior computer skills are extremely useful in what is rapidly becoming a much more sophisticated technological environment. Students seeking help from peers have a comfort level they may not have with staff at a more authoritarian level (real or perceived). When I have a technology dilemma, I‘ll often consult them first. (Having been born within the X Generation, I can’t help but feel envious of the technology fluency of the Millennial, or Net/Y Generation!)
The efficaciousness, competence and level of commitment routinely displayed by the SCs is as equally impressive as their knowledge of computers. One of the most satisfying aspects of my involvement with Mills Learning Commons is the opportunity to work with these outstanding individuals. I applaud them for their hard work over the last two years.
References / Partners
Learning Commons Daily News article (1.)
Learning Commons Daily News article (2.)
McMaster’s Online Student Career and Recruitment site (OSCAR)
University Technology Services
Centre for Student Development
Centre for Leadership and Learning
Facility Services
Suggested Reading
Salkowitz, R. Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap
Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008.
(ebook available to McMaster University Library users)
