Throughout the upcoming year, the Learning Commons Committee will be hosting educational forums open to faculty, students, and staff.

The forums provide a platform for members of the Marywood community to voice their ideas and be educated on the logistics of the new Learning Commons.

According to Amanda Avery, outreach & assessment librarian and chairperson of the Learning Commons Committee, the concept of having open forums evolved organically.

“It really just came out of conversations that library faculty and faculty in other departments just started having [about] the opening of the Learning Commons,” said Avery. “We realized that there were a lot of questions. We realized we didn’t have a lot of answers to these questions.”

The meetings are designed to accommodate all persons in the Marywood community.

“We’re hoping that a variety of people will come to the forums. We didn’t want to make them just for faculty or just for staff,” said Avery.

Though not everyone will have creative ideas to contribute, some plan to use the forums to aid in the transition to the new building.

“To start off, I would just want to learn the basics,” said Michael Thomas, sophomore business management major. “What is the space going to be like? Will there be a dining area? How different is it from the library now? How much is it going to change how classes are, if it’s going to change them at all?”

The Learning Commons will be equipped with new technology. The committee plans to use the forum to develop efficient methods to utilize this equipment.

Committee member and User Services Librarian Leslie Christiansen elaborated on the objectives of this transition.

“The goal is to really adapt to what every person needs and be able to take apart and put together what’s appropriate in each circumstance,” said Christiansen.

The times and locations of the future meetings are to be determined. Anyone interested in learning about or attending a meeting can contact Amanda Avery at [email protected]