Renovations, new services and expanded programming are transforming Love Library into a vibrant, modern academic hub.
And, while the metamorphosis will not be complete until the Love North Learning Commons opens in spring 2016, recent upgrades — including the addition of student services, reconfiguration of the main checkout desk and study area updates — are helping increase library usage. Since implementing the changes, total patrons using Love Library services grew from 500,595 in 2012 to 566,295 in 2014.
Nancy Busch, dean of the university libraries, said that 13 percent increase is a direct result of expanded services within UNL’s central library.
“We’re recapturing Love Library’s role as the key academic hub on campus,” said Nancy Busch, dean of the university libraries. “We want this library to be the campus space for students, faculty and staff to come and study alone or work in groups, using technology and our unique resources to further academic and research goals.”
Consultants who developed UNL’s master plan helped launch the library updates, said Jennifer Dam, assistant director for campus planning and space management.
“One of the things the master planners noticed in their first days on campus was the need to strengthen the presence of Love Library, to make it a campus centerpiece for student study and collaboration,” Dam said. “So, they proposed that we open up the first floor of Love North and convert it into a space for student collaboration that spills into a terraced area outside.
“Campus administrators loved the idea.”
While the concept — which became the Love North Learning Commons — was being incorporated into UNL’s updated master plan, Busch, campus administrators and library staff started to make other changes. Among the first was removal of window blinds on the first floor of Love North.
“I walk by that area often and, with the blinds in place, it felt like the library was closed off and inaccessible,” Dam said. “When the blinds came down, you were able to see people studying and activity within the library. It was such a small change, but it made a dramatic difference. And, it showed Love Library’s potential to become a campus focal point.”
Other improvements that have led to expanded use of Love Library are the addition of student services, including office space for First-Year Experience and Transition Programs, the Explore Center and Education Abroad; reshaping the library’s front desk into a space that offers help with library resources and information technology assistance alongside general book checkout services; moving media services into a central location and converting its previous home into the Mezzanine Room study area; hiring an interior design consultant to select a new paint palette and assist with furniture updates; adding art exhibition spaces; using mobile carts to display existing and new books; and expanding library programming to include a variety of events, including the popular “Sci Pop!” lecture series.
“We’ve also recently launched changes to our website to make it more user friendly,” Busch said. “And we are planning more changes, including the addition of a self check-out machine this spring.”
Busch said similar updates are being planned for C.Y. Thompson Library on East Campus.
“From the feedback we’ve received, these changes have re-energized the library,” Busch said. “And, when the learning commons opens next year, that energy will grow exponentially.
The $10 million Learning Commons project will create collaborative study spaces open 24 hours a day on the first floor of Love Library North. The space is being designed to accommodate and promote intensive study and scholarly work, while allowing collaborations and cross-discipline connections between students and faculty.
The space will also include a coffee shop and café, private study rooms, access to libraries and information technology services staff, and a electronic testing and digital learning lab. It will also include an outdoor terrace with additional seating for studying and collaboration.
For more information about the Love North Learning Commons project, go to http://libraries.unl.edu/learningcommons.
