Anderson University

A New Library for Anderson University

A Learning Commons for the New Century

For years, the academic library has been viewed as a place where information is held and managed, and where staff help give access to that knowledge.

Times have changed.

Today's college students learn in radically different ways. They learn with technology. (They have since childhood - children with computers and electronic games constantly in their little hands.) They learn experientially through simulation and through problem-based activities. And they learn collaboratively, working in teams with friends and classmates. They love to learn together. Indeed, future generations will learn in social contexts more than any generation before them.

At Anderson, we are preparing for the enormous change that will continue to take place in how students learn. And it all begins with the library - the place that has always been the heart of learning on our nearly 100 year old campus.

In the words of Yale librarian emeritus Scott Bennett, a new vision of libraries is emerging to achieve the aims of modern teaching and learning. Bennett suggests we build modern libraries to be "learning commons," - places that bring people together around shared learning tasks. The core activity of a learning commons is not to be the manipulation and mastery of information...but the collaborative learning by which students turn information into knowledge and sometimes into wisdom.

As Anderson University sets out to achieve its vision of being a leading comprehensive liberal arts Christian college in the South, we dream of a new library that will be more characterized by the learning productivity of the students, faculty, and visitors who will use its growing digital and paper collections than by the traditional images of a repository of books.

We envision a library learning commons that will bring people together to actively learn in both traditional and cutting-edge ways... a place that will stimulate social and intellectual interaction...a dynamic learning environment that will be consistent with Andersons emerging reputation as one of the best comprehensive Christian colleges in the South.

Library Plans

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The new 45,000 square foot facility will be three times the size of the current library. But functionality and design will be much more important than size. The new library will be located adjacent to the Callie Stringer Rainey Fine Arts Center and near the Watkins Teaching Center in the primary academic quadrant of the campus. An estimated $7.2 million project, the new state of the art facility will contain all the elements needed to make it a learning commons, including a multi-media technology center, an art gallery, a master reading room, private study areas for collaborative learning, instructional technology laboratories, a curriculum laboratory, a music library, and a coffee/dessert bar. The entire facility will feature wireless connectivity to the internet. The multi-media technology center will be fitted with the latest technology including web conferencing, and the adaptability to upgrade to new technology as it becomes available. And, the building will be designed in such a way that it can be adapted or other future shifts in student learning. "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of Library." Jose Luis Borges

Your gift or pledge for a new library will help Anderson University build the most important new academic facility it could construct as it nears the end of its first 100 years of service in Christian higher education. A new library will provide the foundation needed for the future development of our academic programs and help us better serve our growing student enrollment.

Contributions may honor or memorialize a donor's friend or loved one. Donors may also make gifts in their own name. Gifts may be made in the form of an immediate gift of cash, stock, or other appreciated assets or a commitment of installment payments over a specific period of time. Pledges are recommended over a 3 to 5 year period and are viewed as an intent by the donor and are not legally binding should your financial situation change.

The following are suggested amounts for given areas, where naming opportunities remain:

Donors who give a minimum of $5,000 will be recognized on the Wall of Honor that will be located in a prominent location in the new library.

Library Update: Construction will begin in September and be completed by the fall of 2006. Over $5.6 million has been raised to date. Another $1.6 million is needed to reach our fundraising goal and claim a $400,000 challenge grant.