First and Focused - College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University

Learning in the 21st century
The shift by university libraries to a learning-centered design began
approximately 20 years ago. Kathy Parker, director of CSB/SJU
Libraries, visited libraries on several campuses with architect Gregory
Friesen during the planning phase for the learning commons.
“This is going to be an exciting and vibrant
learning space for our students.”
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“We are among the first to really consider the implications of the
redesign, and we have the opportunity to benefit from their experience,”
she says. For example, some of the earlier designs focused more
on technology than on the way students use it. Essentially they created
computer labs, with computers arranged in rows.
That’s not how students use them. They work in groups, or clusters,
Parker explains.
The difference is more profound than just seating arrangements.
Parker explains it this way. Previous generations of students learned in
a more linear fashion. They attended class and took notes. They read
assignments and studied for exams.
Now, for a typical class, students give computer-based presentations,
often with video clips from YouTube. They work on group projects
and join small discussions. They conduct online surveys, collect and
manipulate data, and design websites.
The variety of tasks students perform requires a variety of spaces,
Parker says. There is no one-space-fits-all.
Glenda Burgeson is CSB/SJU director of editorial services.
– Kathy Parker, director, CSB/SJU Libraries