Developing Studio Spaces as Catalysts for Innovative and Collaborative Pedagogy

As higher education shifts to meet the needs of modern students and employers, libraries have become much more than spaces to hold a collection of books. Both the media and the functions of the spaces have changed, and studio or lab spaces are one way that libraries are better able to support work with digital media from both student (Mandel, 2008) and faculty (Bailey, Blunt, & Magner, 2011) perspectives. In this session, attendees will consider why creating studio or lab spaces to support pedagogically-driven learning is important for all institutions and how one might take steps to begin designing or encouraging the creation of this kind of space. Additionally, attendees will explore strategies for finding and partnering with the labs/studios that may already be available on their campuses. We assert that, through these partnerships, both the studios and faculty can grow and better support engaging, active learning throughout the campus community.