Grand Challenge, the Learning Commons Model and Service Points
**This section was updated in Spring 2024. Information about this project will change as we move forward with this plan, so be sure to check in with a supervisor if you have any questions!**
The library was selected to be part of a campus-wide Grand Challenge, which includes plans to move toward a single-service desk for the library and building partners. This plan has come to be known as "Reimagining Foley." The single-service point that we will be moving towards is known as a Learning Commons library model. Over the next few years, we will be in a transition phase while we plan for those changes related to the Grand Challenge. To plan for this upcoming transition, we are leaving the Information Desk mostly unstaffed, and have migrated to a single service point behind the Circulation Desk.
To learn more about the learning commons model, please read the following articles:
- https://successdistrict.arizona.edu/university-libraries
- https://libraries.indiana.edu/learning-commons
We are also making a concerted effort to get to know the services of all of our building partners so that we are better able to refer patrons. Please refer to the Foley Building Partner directory for more information and get comfortable using this resource to help you refer patrons to services and direct them around the building.
What is happening to the round (Information) desk?
Since we are no longer using the Information Desk as a primary service point (aside from during the late-night hours), we have invited our building partners to use the space so that they can spend more time interacting with library patrons in different capacities. For example, student employees from ITS was stationed there in the afternoons at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester. This new use of that desk model will also help as we transition toward a Learning Commons model in the near future.