Fondren unveils fresh technology
Fondren Library revamped their ‘how-to’ Canvas module and website and soundproofed the audio and photography rooms after student suggestions. Smart locks and preferred name displays are currently under beta testing and could launch as early as January.
Debra Kay Kolah, head of user experience at Fondren, said that the library had tables where students, faculty and staff could offer comments and suggestions for improvements. “At the beginning of the semester, we had about eight tables up on the first floor of the library,” Kolah said. “We did one with about 34 [contributors] … to think about what changes we needed to do.”
With that input, the library made changes that the Rice community felt were important. One common critique was the length of the previous Fondren Canvas module.
“It was a little boring — a lot,” Kolah said. “We’re not doing that brain dump anymore.”
Now, a new 20-minute Fondren 101 video provides a more concise overview. The library’s homepage also received a makeover, including a more conveniently located browsing tool.
“[The browsing tool] is one of my favorite tools that the library subscribes to. I describe it as a lot like academic iTunes, because it links to journals that we own,” Kolah said. “I always tell students, your area of fun may indeed be somebody else’s area of research.”
Links to other resources, which were previously located below the browsing tool on the homepage, were moved up for accessibility. One button leads to the research guides. These are organized by academic topics and updated as librarians create new resources for students, including a “guide on supporting grief and loss.”
Fondren’s basement houses the audio studio and the photography studio. Both were renovated to provide professional noise cancellation with no chance of sound bleeding. According to digital media commons supervisor Ian Mellor-Crummey, Fondren also offers free audio, photo and video equipment that can be checked out with a Rice ID.
“We have still cameras, video cameras, audio recorders, microphones, tripods, projectors, lighting kits, all sorts of awesome stuff,” Mellor-Crummey said.
Other equipment is also available for students in need of cables and calculators. The library stop and shop, located behind the circulation desk, is stockpiled with items ranging from VGA and HDMI cables to laptop chargers to adapters and TI84 calculators. User Experience, a sub-branch of IT, has also started work on potential changes to study room locks.
Sam Turner, UX student researcher, said beta testing for smart locks that will replace physical keys began on Sept. 26. Students with a reservation can scan a QR code for easy access.
Additionally, Turner, a Jones College sophomore, said that UX is working on a project to allow users to input and display their preferred name on their library catalog account.
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