Functional Areas of LRS Building Program

The following is an attempt to update descriptions of the purpose and some of the physical requirements of the functional areas of the library building program. Most of the descriptions are taken from the St. Cloud State University Learning Resources Services Building Program (1992). See Project Data Summary for square footage allocations.

Bookstacks, Circulating Collections

The present facility is designed as an inverted pyramid, with the primary circulating collection housed on the largest floor at the top of the building; this inhibits further expansion of the collection. The new building will distribute circulating collections on several floors. Bookstacks will be designed to house and display circulating books and related print resources in a manner which maintains the integrity of the classification schemes (Library of Congress and Superintendent of Documents), allows for a logical layout of classified materials with clear articulation between areas using different classification schemes, and does not hinder user access. SCSU is proposing to split the collection into two parts: the Primary collections and the Research collections. Both collections will be open and accessible to all clients. All LRS collections will be subject to continual assessment and management in coordination with other MnSCU libraries, libraries in Central Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota.

Primary Collections

This collection will serve the primary curricular and undergraduate research needs and be more or less stable in size, with a capacity for 200,000 volumes in mechanical assist high density compact shelving. As new items are added to this collection, older and/or less used research materials will be moved to the compact Research collections in the basement level. While all library collections can be viewed as dynamic (at least in the sense of continued growth), the Primary Collections will be especially dynamic. LRS assumes continued acquisition of print materials for the foreseeable future (in the range of 1-3% annual growth for all print resources).

Research Collection

This collection will serve the graduate and faculty research needs and will fluctuate in size as resources are added and deleted over time. It is suggested that a certain portion of the collection of each Minnesota State University library "float" within the system. Older and unused materials will be sent to the University of Minnesota Archives & Overflow Facility for assessment, preservation, and longterm storage. Maximum anticipated size of the Research Collections is 750,000 volumes. The compact shelving will also provide storage for bound periodicals and circulating Government Publications.

Return to Building Data Summary

Reading and Study Areas

Will provide a variety of easily accessible study, reading, and collaborative learning spaces throughout the building. A combination of open, small group reading lounges with comfortable chairs and task lighting; small group "collaboration" rooms with network access; and groups of individual and multiple seating study tables with task lighting should provide all users with a comfortable environment in which to study, research, or relax. Computer clusters will be scattered throughout the building, but located and organized so as to minimize potential "noise pollution." Many individual and multiple seating study tables will have connections to access the campus networks.

Return to Building Data Summary

Administrative Offices

Central reception and office space to support the functions of the Dean and the Center for Information Media. A multi-purpose conference room, with full multimedia and interactive capabilities, will be available for various LRS faculty and departmental meetings, faculty/staff training and development, and serve as a seminar space for graduate instruction.

Return to Building Data Summary

Reference and Electronic Information Services and Collections

This is an expanding area that will continue to fulfill two basic needs:

• To provide assistance, consultation, and individual and group instruction to users (including via telephone and other electronic media) in the access and use of information resources and services within and beyond LRS.
• To house and make accessible reference information resources in any media, including reference books, indexes and abstracts, atlases, government publications, CD-ROM, and other digital information resources.

Some of the responsibilities of this area overlap and interact with other LRS areas, both within the User Services workgroup and with other workgroups. In particular, as the need for and use of electronically accessible information grows, Reference Services may develop a closer relationship with InforMedia Services. Following the "walls dissolve" metaphor, interaction with academic departments within the SCSU community will expand, providing access to and assistance with digital resources housed in an maintained by departments. An example of the latter might be integration of GIS resources in the Geography Department into the LRS information environment.

Immediately adjacent to the Reference Services desk will be 30 "scholar's workstations," providing access to a range of applications and information resources (including CD-ROM, OPAC, CWIS, and Internet). Another 500 workstations will be distributed throughout the building; most will have similar configurations. Within the Reference Service area will also be 10 OPAC dedicated workstations. A multimedia library use instruction laboratory, with workstations and seating for 30, will be within the service area.

The Reference Service area needs to be among the most visible, after Circulation, upon entering the building, but needs to be separate from the noise of the Lobby and Circulation Service Counter and primary traffic patterns. As the primary point of user assistance, it will be in close proximity to the Government Publications Service area.

Return to Building Data Summary

Government Publications

Will provide access, through its status as a selective depository, to resources provided from the United States Government and its agencies. It is anticipated that over the next decade the majority of U.S. Government publications will migrate from paper to digital formats, the latter in a combination of CD-ROM depository items and Internet access; as much as 90% of current print resources may be available in electronic form only or may not be available at all. As a consequence, this service and resource area will undergo some of the greatest changes and must remain extremely flexible.

The Government Publications collections and service area will be immediately adjacent to the microforms area (part of Periodicals) and in close proximity to the Reference service area (for user assistance). While maps and government publications are somewhat discrete collections, they are part of the same overall service and processing responsibilities of the Government Publications unit.

Portions of the Government Publications collections will be merged into other collections, e.g., government periodicals will move to Periodicals, some indexes and laws/court cases will move to Reference, etc. While Government Publications is a dynamic collection, with additions and withdrawals under depository guidelines taking place constantly, many historic and archival resources will remain in LRS collections. For print-based Government Publications, 60% will be stored with the Research Collections; the remaining 40% will comprise a non-circulating collection in the Government Publications service area. However, 84% of U.S. Government publications are presently available in non-print formats (microform or digital media) only; the expected growth in digital formats should reduce overall space requirements. While many government publications are being produced in electronic formats, microform remains the preferred media for archival storage; the future of electronic access to archival resources has not been proven.

LRS maintains a collection of approximately 80,000 maps, predominately produced by the U.S. Government or the State of Minnesota. Map cabinets will be in the Government Publications service area.

Return to Building Data Summary

Periodicals Services

At present, Periodicals receives, processes, and provides access and user assistance for approximately 2700 periodical titles. Access and assistance is also provided for approximately 1600 corporate annual reports (acquisition and processing is handled in Reference). The services are divided into six components:

• Current Periodicals. Currently, a closed collection (access for faculty and graduate students only; limited seating) for approximately 2700 current year periodicals, newspapers, and 3000 corporate annual reports (stored in file cabinets). Expectation is for moderate growth in the collection (pending adequate funding), to stabilize at about 3000 titles; growth may be limited to electronic journals. A large service counter staffed by student workers provides the only access for undergraduates and other users who must have a current barcode and who may check-out materials for in-building use. The building program calls for a more accessible current collection, open to all users with adequate seating and light, in a controlled access area; a small service counter would provide a location for assistance and reshelving.

• Annual Reports. Paper copies stored in file cabinets behind Periodicals Service counter. What is the role of this collection in relation to digital resources like EDGAR and the Standard and Poor's Corporate Text CD-ROM? While the paper annual reports collection carries no direct costs, there are considerable indirect personnel, mail, and storage costs in keeping the collection up-to-date and in order. This is an issue that has been avoided for several years that will soon need addressing.

• Bound Periodicals. Currently, stored in open stacks in Periodicals area, alphabetically by title. The new building program places all bound periodicals in the compact storage facility at the basement level. We would like to consider the possibility of limited circulation for bound periodical titles beyond a certain age (e.g., older than 5 years). May need to reconsider classifying bound periodicals.

• Microforms. Storage cabinets for microfiche and microfilm in an open public area with readers and reader/printers. Provides the primary area for storing and using Government Publications in microformat. The impact of digital storage upon microforms is unknown, although we anticipate continued growth of microforms as a preferred archival storage medium.

• Periodical Indexes and Abstracts. At present this refers to print indexes only; some titles (Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts) are stored and inaccessible; indexes to individual periodicals are stored with the periodical; indexes in CD-ROM format are maintained in the Reference area. The continuation of many print index subscriptions needs to be considered in light of movement toward electronic indexes available in CD-ROM format or loaded as a subfile of the PALS online catalog. Those print indexes that are not and will not be available in digital formats will be classified and integrated into the Reference collections.

• Receiving and processing area. The present periodicals processing and staff work and storage area will be integrated with the materials processing areas, to better utilize staff and terminals, in the new building.

Many of the operations and much of the purpose of Periodicals Services are and will continue to change over the next several years, primarily as the result of increasing access to electronic information. Since the initial building program was written (1992), more than 500 electronic journals, newsletters, and newspapers have become available via the World Wide Web. Developments such as Project Muse (academic journals from Johns Hopkins University Press) should become more common in the near future. The issues of cost of acquisition, cataloging, copyright, and archiving digital serials will have an impact upon the physical periodical collections and need to be addressed.

Merging government periodicals into a single periodicals collection and displaying holdings on the online catalog (rather than a serials holdings list printout) will go a long way toward improving local and regional access to LRS resources.

Return to Building Data Summary

Archives and Special Collections

Will provide a safe and secure environment for storage and preservation of rare books, manuscripts, realia, photographs, and University archives. The new building program provides a reading room and display area for the combined collections of University Archives, Rare Books, Central Minnesota Authors Manuscripts Collections, MEMO Historical Media Equipment collection, and the Central Minnesota Historical Center archives.

The program made three design requirements:

• The need to maintain constant archival temperature and humidity and the elimination of ultraviolet lighting.
• Adequate combined storage facility (utlizing compact 4-post shelving) with sufficient space to maintain relative integrity of separate collections; and two small processing areas.
• An attractive and comfortable reading and display room for the use of the collections by up to 16 people.

Return to Building Data Summary

Access (Circulation) Services

Provides stack management for all circulating collections; provides a discharge and sorting area; manages automated checkout kiosks. Currently handles in excess of 150,000 items circulated annually. The present Circulation counter (where users checkout materials) is located on the 4th floor, adjacent to collections, but remote from the main entrance and from users; areas related to Circulation, e.g., Reserves and Media Collections are in other locations in the building; Periodicals and Government Publications maintain their own policies and checkout procedures. This diversity is confusing to users and LRS staff alike. The new building program allocates sufficient space to move toward a centralized circulation area, a single point of contact to provide user services. The single service point will require and facilitate a more coordinated circulation policy.

• Information Delivery combines the functions of interlibrary loan, periodicals photocopy, and document delivery (a fee based service within interlibrary loan). The workload and space requirements for this service will continue to increase as budgetary pressures decreases Learning Resources' ability to purchase resources or access to resources. The service will be adjacent to the space allocated for the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multi-type cooperative promoting access to LRS collections and through SCSU to MINITEX.

• Reserves provides a location for faculty to place information resources in support of course curriculum. The present dependence upon print resources may move toward digital with the development of electronic reserves (This is an area that needs to be developed within LRS). Electronic reserves may solve the current inadequacies of the service to meet the needs of distance education students. For the moment, due to space constraints in the present building, Reserves is provided through InforMedia Services.

• Circulation will provide a single service point for all circulating collections and cohesive policy for borrowing all materials in Learning Resources. The service counter is of sufficient size that staff will be able to provide personal checkout and assistance and monitor the exit detect gate without creating undue congestion. The counter is also convenient to Media and Reserve collections storage. A lockable pass-through into the main lobby from behind the counter will allow the potential of providing access to non-digital reserves after the main library is closed to the public.

• Media Collections combines all image (video, videodisc, slide, film, filmstrip, etc.), audio (CD-A, cassette, vinyl, etc.), and software collections into a single location and service point and convenient to both Media Booking and Reserves. The generally fragile nature of these resources causes them to be maintained in a staff accessible area, but not open to the public.

• Media and Equipment Booking, currently handled by Distribution, will be incorporated into Access-Circulation and will provide a single service point for booking media (e.g., video and film, either owned by LRS, or borrowed or rented from another source), facilities (e.g., classrooms and other public facilities in the building), and services (e.g., subscription or access to satellite or cable broadcasts, conferences, or programs). The service will continue to book and distribute audiovisual equipment (overhead projectors, VCRs, monitors, projectors, etc.) for the immediate future; the space for storing equipment will be converted to manage digital distribution in the future.

Some of the services outlined for Access-Circulation point to the need to develop a better internal policy and service imperative for copyright compliance and information. This needs to be done in coordination with copyright issues related to production encountered in InforMedia Services.

Return to Building Data Summary

Access (Processing) Services

This area brings together all the technical processing functions and presently dispersed operations (e.g., Government Publications and Periodicals) into a single location. The design requirements for this area included:

• Logical sequencing of work flow from resource order and shipment receipt through cataloging to labelling. The space will be flexible to accomodate changes in workflow load and maintain integrity of needs. This latter is especially necessary as LRS implements the processing of resources for regional partners within MnSCU (e.g., St. Cloud Technical College Media Center).

• Security of unprocessed resources requires limited and controlled public access.

• Comfortable work environment, with semi-private alcoves and natural light.

• Well ventilated bindery room (for local bindery and repair needs; the majority of binding is out-sourced).

This is one of the more traditional operations being carried to the new building. While many acdemic libraries are looking to out-source to service agencies the majority of their technical processing requirements (only materials ordering, payment, and stack management frequently remain), LRS is in the initial stages of negotiating to be a technical processing service agency for regional academic libraries. The initial phase of this development is under current discussion with St. Cloud Technical College. Potential expansion may include Alexandria, Hutchinson, and Pine Technical Colleges, and Wilmar, Central Lakes (Brainerd), and Cambridge Community Colleges. The entire concept of technical processing is undergoing considerable discussion within the profession with the expansion of digital information resources and the idea of "indexing and cataloging" at the production source rather than the service end.

Return to Building Data Summary

Center for Information Media

Physical facilities to support graduate and specialist degree programs and undergraduate minor and support courses in educational communications, instructional systems design, information technologies, human resources development and training, and information literacy. The Center's goals are to:

• Provide students with the necessary skills to access, assess, and apply various information media in their educational and professional experiences.

• Develop leadership skills in information and instructional technology management, and message and instructional design, production, and devliery.

The emphasis in design of classroom, seminar, and lab spaces is access to and application of information technologies with a high degree of user comfort. All classrooms, seminar rooms, and labs in the new building will have ITV capability and access to LRS and Internet electronic resources. Two 30-workstation instructional labs are shared with the InforMedia Arcade. Two additional classrooms are designed for flexible arrangements to accomodate traditional lecture and small group interaction. A seminar room is designed for small graduate courses along the lines of corporate conference rooms; incorporation of ITV will allow distance education students to participate. Rather than a separate computer lab/classroom, the Center will share these facilites with InforMedia Services.

Return to Building Data Summary

InforMedia Services

InforMedia is an evolutionary service, expanding upon the original concepts behind

• Instructional Technology Services (student media production, but generally limited to posters and laminating; and non-print collections other than film and media) and
• Instructional Development (instructional design, graphic design, and production support for presentation and publication; development of computer-based instructional programs for campus and industry).
• Center for Information Media Computer Lab (instruction in production and instructional application programs) and the ACS/LRS Student Computer Lab (general use applications and Internet access).

InforMedia Services will continue to provide instructional and media production services, but will expand to become a research, development, and implementation area for innovations in instruction and learning and a catalyst for forming campus, community, and regional partnerships in support of information and instruction technologies.

The InforMedia Arcade will be the public use area within Learning Resources maintained and staffed by InforMedia Services. It will incorporate and expand computer lab facilities to assist users in transforming and producing multimedia and hypermedia information resources to fulfill curricular or instructional requirements. It will provide instruction through workshops and seminars and hardware and software resources for planning, producing, and presenting information and instruction through multimedia and hypermedia. Because of the easy copying of digital information by all users and the generally cavalier attitude toward copyright in general, InforMedia Services will need to be more aggressive, in coordination with Access-Circulation in providing copyright information and monitoring.

The building program includes two 30-workstation and ITV-compatible classrooms, 30 open-access multimedia production workstations, audio and video production and editing rooms, group production and viewing rooms, and a faculty development center.

Return to Building Data Summary

Technical Support Services

Provides research and development, implementation, and maintenance support for information and instruction technologies for the entire campus. In particular, the area provides the staff and resources to manage and maintain technologies ranging from audio and sound systems to LRS information servers to multi-network interactive television systems to campus and regional networking infrastructure. This area is vital to the current and projected success in the transformation of information and knowledge access embodied in Learning Resources programs. The area works closely with Academic Computer Services, another division within Learning Resources Services, but one that will not relocate to the new building.

The building program allocates sufficient space to expand current repair and maintenance operations and research and development needs. The center of operations will be a climate-controlled communications center, with the majority of telecommunications and computer resources. Data closets on each floor of the building will be linked through fiber optic cables to the communication center and provide access from the distributed user computer clusters.

Return to Building Data Summary

Auditorium

Multipurpose auditorium seating 150 people for large class instruction, interactive teleconferencing, meetings, presentations, performances, and general university functions. Original plans to be able to divide the room into three smaller auditoriums were dropped. The auditorium is designed to be accessible when the main portion of the building are closed.

Return to Building Data Summary

Faculty Reading Room

In conjunction with the SCSU Center for Excellence in Teaching, the building program provides a small reading and meeting room for all faculty. Similar to the faculty development area in the InforMedia Arcade, this area will be a catalyst for encouraging instructional and library faculty interaction and collaboration.

Return to Building Data Summary

Extended Use Study Lounge

Primarily to provide a safe and hospitable study area during hours when the building is closed to the public. During other times, it would provide a gathering place for faculty and students to eat or drink without entering other areas of the building. The room will be wired for campus network access. Potential vandalism and personal safety are issues. An electronic key as part of each student's personal i.d. may need to be investigated in the future.

Return to Building Data Summary

Locker Alcove

This part of the original program, designed to provide a place for users to securely store rain and snow coats without entering the main areas of the building, will probably be dropped from the final program due to space reduction to stay within the budget allocation.

Return to Building Data Summary

Other Walls Dissolve documents related to the new Learning Resources building program include:

The St. Cloud State University Vision: A Library and Learning Resources Services Facility for the 21st Century, provides an overview of the philosophic and service goals the building program embodies.
LRS Project Comparison with Recent Library Construction Projects, compares the size, cost, volume capacity, and user seating for selected academic and public library construction projects completed since 1990.
New Learning Resources Services Project Data Summary, lists the major service and operations area contained in the building program. Closely related to this is the description of Functional Areas of LRS Building Program, a summary of comments from the building program.
Libraries: A State Investment, written by Jeffrey Scherer, AIA, for the Minnesota State University System, to inform legislators about the positive educational and social impact academic libraries in the State University System have beyond campus confines.

Copyright © 1999 Created January 1996 Last Revision: April 5, 1999 URL: http://lrs.stcloudstate.edu/future/functions.html	Learning Resources & Technology Services Centennial Hall Phone: (320) 255-2084 Fax: (320) 255-4778 webteam@stcloudstate.edu