Customer Experience Group (Dennis Clark, Chair) 

We're a customer service organization that happens to be a library
We're discussing ideas related to a single service point, for example:

• Circulation already provides some reference services after Reference closes.
• Maybe have an appointment or consultation desk?
• Standing vs. sitting desk: reference desk needs to be a sitting desk, but 90% of circulation transactions are standing.

Architecture GANT Charul Mehta is assisting us with incorporating customer-experience ideas into the building design.

Learning Spaces Group (Susie Goodwin, Chair)

Some of the things we'd like to incorporate in the first-floor design:

• Digital displays to inform/educate about library services/resources
• Recharging stations
• Spaces for cell phones
• Booths for groups with access to power
• Visual cues to donote noise levels

 See the latest version of the zone map.

Collections Group (Pixey Mosley, Chair)

High Density Repository (HDR) - This is a name change for the storage facility in Austin that we are sharing with the University of Texas.  LibCat and Chiron records for items stored at HDR will include a button that users can click to place a request to borrow.

Reference collection - We've received the list of titles to be retained in the reference collection on the first floor and the list of items that will be moved over the summer to the stacks.

Facilities Group (Charles Gilreath, Chair)

TAMU Food Services is purchasing a large coffee cart for the West Campus Library that will be located on the first floor by the stairwell.

Technology Group (Leslie Reynolds, Chair)

Media and Reserves will be receiving three new media work stations that will allow creation and storage of high-definition content.  In the past students used our equipment to create short videos, 5 minutes or so.  Now they tend to create longer video clips, many longer than 30 minutes.  The new machines will speed development, especially rendering.  We will not support 3D and animation in the near-term future.

Communication (Sandy Tucker, Chair)

Graphic artist Tina Messinger is designing a common look for temporary signs related to the Re-Imagine project.

We have a designer!

The University has engaged the firm Prozign to do interior design work on the first floor of Evans Library.  Prozign's recent projects have included redesign work at Houston Public Library and the University of Houston Law Library.

The reference collection is on the move:

In an effort to maximize public space on the first floor, we're reducing the size of the reference collection.  Look for things to start happening at the end of May or the first week in June as we move books to their new locations.  Some will go to the stacks right away, others will go to a temporary location until we make room for them in the stacks.

News from the working groups:

Customer Experience Group (Dennis Clark, Chair)

What does good service look like?  The committee is currently working hard to define what good service looks like and defining expectations for service.

Learning Spaces Group (Susie Goodwin, Chair)

The group has identified specific usage zones for the public areas on the first floor with a focus on a mixture of collaborative and quiet study.

In re-imagining the library, we're improving  access to Texas A&M theses and dissertations. This is part of a larger plan to 1. make more content available in digital formats, 2. arrange books in a more logical order and 3. make room on our shelves for new books.

What you need to know about Ts and Ds:

• TAMU masters theses and PhD dissertations from June 2005 to present have been "born digital" and are available full-text from the Texas A&M Repository.
• TAMU dissertations from 1963 to present are available online through ProQuest Disserations and Theses.  We're working with ProQuest to add the older dissertations.
• Pre-June-2005 theses, currently available only in print, are being digitized and will be added to the Texas A&M Repository.
• Our print copies of of Ts and Ds will move to the University Archives for safe keeping.  If you would like to view a print copy, library staff will retrieve it for use at Cushing Library.

Given the number of theses we hold, our local scanning project will take quite some time to complete.  Check our blog for updates on our progress.

This is a very preliminary concept...

See a larger view of the drawing.

What we heard from our surveys and focus groups is that students desire...

A "third space:"

• Not their dorm room
• Not their classroom
• Their in-between space (a la Starbucks "third space")
• A place to study, discover, socialize, have fun

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