Each person in a study group will have a computer after the upgrade.
By Janie Medelez
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The library in Moody Learning Center is upgrading six study rooms to provide projectors, computers and connections for electronic devices.
The library has six study rooms on the second floor, and the improvements were inspired by surveys students fill out after using services on the second floor desk area, technology services Librarian Lee LeBlanc said Sept. 25.
Library administrators recognized a need for study rooms better equipped for students to come together to collaborate in groups, he said.
“Student nurses have really benefited from these study rooms by the way of a distraction-free area,” said reference Librarian Stephen Dingman.
Other study rooms located on the third and fourth floor will continue to offer the traditional quiet space for students. All study rooms have tables, chairs and whiteboards.
The upgraded rooms will be equipped with state-of-the-art projectors for easy collaboration but will also accommodate mobile devices, such as smartphones, Google Android, and tablet computers students might bring with them.
“These rooms will be equipped with desktop computers,” he said, noting everyone in a study group will have access to a computer.
LeBlanc said the undertaking on the renovation of existing study spaces and meeting the demands of modern technology can be challenging.
For example, to upgrade study rooms requires upgrading and installing the network wiring on a building that was built in the 1960s, adding network outlets and asking the office of technology to make sure devices work with the existing infrastructure.
Usha Venkat, director of information technology, said the equipment and funding for the project came from both the library and the office of technology at a cost of $15,000.
The improvements are on target to open by the end of this semester, LeBlanc said.
To use the rooms, students must make a request at the service desk on the second, third and fourth floors. They must present their Alamo Colleges student ID.
No reservations can be made in advance. One person or a group can check out a study room for up to three hours.
Library hours are 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information, call the library reference desk at 210-486-0554.