CONWAY, Ark. (August 12, 2019)
– Hendrix College’s Bailey Library will begin the 2019-2020 academic year with
updates that provide a more welcoming space for Hendrix students, faculty, and
staff.
Perhaps the least noticeable
but most used change in the main library: new security gates to provide more
reliable usage information in their function as a gate counter. These more sophisticated
gates replace the ones that were moved from the old underground Bailey Library,
which closed in 1992.
More noticeable is the
reduction in print periodicals bookshelves to open up more space in the
Learning Commons, the collaboration between the Office of Academic Success and
the library that has provided centralized academic support services since 2015.
The Writing Center and Testing Services already resided in the adjacent Snoddy Academic
Resource Center, so the 2015 change put all peer learning resources in the same
building, which is open to students in evenings and on weekends. The Learning
Commons includes an open space with tables, comfortable seating, computer
projection capabilities, and whiteboards. It houses foreign language peer learning,
and has been used to host talks, library instruction sessions, peer assistant
training sessions, and library events, such as the series of classes held by
the “Hendrix School of Witchcraft & Wizardry” during Halloween week last
fall.
With the expanded study
space created by removing shelves and adding tables and study carrels, the
Learning Commons can accommodate more students at one time, which will prove
useful for new programming from the Office of Academic Success, as well as
study hall gatherings that coaches may require student-athletes to attend as a
team.
“The expansion of study
space represents a continuation of the collaboration between all the services
that support student academic success,” said Britt Anne Murphy, director of
Bailey Library. “Bringing students to the library gives them immediate access
to a host of peer learning opportunities that they otherwise might not show up
to use. Sometimes this kind of encouragement to be in the academic space is all
they need to boost academic performance.”
The public access computer
area has gained a new printer, a device charging station, and four new
computers to direct students to library resources. If students find themselves
chilled while studying, blankets are available for check-out. “The goal is to
make the library as inviting as possible so that students will feel comfortable
and at ease as they tackle difficult and stressful tasks of studying, research,
and writing,” Murphy said. “Proximity to experts who can assist students is
also a goal, but if the space doesn’t draw them in, they won’t come.”
Another refreshed space is
geared more toward comfort or fun: The juvenile section, previously a series of
bookshelves in a corner of the second floor, has transformed into a cozy study
zone with some reorganization of shelves and the addition of comfortable seating.
A giant swivel chair invites leisurely reading or perhaps a short nap; colorful
rugs and mid-century modern furniture jazz up the area; and a rocking chair
offers the perfect place for relaxing with a favorite young adult title or
children’s classic. Students may use the whiteboard creation table for
doodling, or dive into a bin to construct a Lego masterpiece.
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.