WVU students looking to kick back, grab a snack and use a Mac can do it all on the newly renovated first floor of the Evansdale Library.

The university celebrated the completion of the $500,000 renovation project Thursday with an open house. Jo Ann Calzonetti, director of the Evansdale Library from 1994-2001, was among the speakers featured at the event, according to the WV press release.

Calzonetti, who is now in charge of the University of Akron’s Science and Technology Library, discussed the changes at the facility. Among other things, WVU added new carpeting, movable furniture, study rooms and a service desk that combines circulation, reference and technical services.

Evansdale Library Director Mary Strife said the renovations were based on student input, and she’s received positive feedback so far. She said students particularly like the display areas reserved for student work and the facility’s new blue-and-gold color scheme, though some were thrown by the new look.

“Some of them said, ‘Are you still a library?’ ” Strife said, laughing.

WVU senior Abby Hess, 31, of Grafton, said she likes the facility’s calming colors and the new snack area, which gives students access to vending machines, coffee and a microwave while they’re studying.

“It’s all new, and it feels really comfortable,” said Hess, who’s majoring in speech pathology and audiology. “It’s a nicer atmosphere. It’s not outdated like it was before.”

Terry Weimer, a 23-year-old senior majoring in psychology, said he likes the technology available to students. The Evansdale Library added six desktop Macintosh computers and five MacBook laptops to its arsenal as part of the renovation project.

“They have more computers for students to access,” Weimer said. “Since they renovated White Hall downtown, it’s kind of hard to find computers, and this is a good place.”

WVU closed the underused White Hall Computing Center to create more space for the physics department, which will move into the building after a $33 million renovation project is finished in fall 2011.

Strife said most of the renovations at Evansdale Library wrapped up late last November, but WVU Libraries Development Officer Monte Maxwell said officials opted to wait until after the spring semester began to celebrate with an open house.

It’s a library, but you don’t have to whisper. In fact, talking and laughter mean students are actively using the newly renovated first floor of the West Virginia University Evansdale Library.

And that is music to Mary Strife’s ear.

Back in 2006, Strife, director of the Evansdale Library, just wanted to replace some old, worn out carpet.

But things have a way of evolving, and after talking with students, she realized they wanted a space that was as social as it was serious. Students were asking for a place where they could study, of course, but they also wanted a place that was flexible with areas to display work, conduct group meetings, catch up with friends and relax between classes.

So Strife reached out to Dr. Cindy Beacham, program chair of interior design at WVU, to help gather data and formalize the students’ needs.

After surveying students across campus and hosting three focus groups in the fall of 2008, WVU student ideas were incorporated into a formal plan to revamp the Evansdale Library.

Crews spent the summer of 2009 equipping the first floor with almost all of the student requests, transforming it into a warm and inviting space stocked with user-friendly technology and staffed by a desk that centralizes circulation, reference and tech help.

“It’s amazing what a little paint and texture can do to brighten up the space and make the students feel welcomed and engaged,” Strife said of the updates.

According to Strife, students began using the space before the paint had time to dry, gathering at the seating area just inside the entrance and socializing in the café seating at the rear. They have also been studying in the new privacy carrels and decompressing in the reading lounge. Groups have been meeting in the new study rooms, pushing together tables and vigorously plotting out assignments on fresh whiteboards.

But the most popular improvements seem to be the new computers and the student display area.

The Evansdale Library now has six Mac desktops and laptops to complement a full offering of technology, which includes a WVU Information Station, television, e-readers and wireless internet access throughout the building.

Dedicated floor space and a bank of display cabinets have been prominently placed at the front of the library to exhibit student work. This was the students’ number one request, and no time has been wasted in setting up displays.

The area currently features an exhibit organized by Amanda Gill, senior in WVU’s Fashion Design and Merchandising program. She just replaced her display of 1970’s fashion and memorabilia with a collection of 1930’s gowns from the WVU costume collection, toys and games from that era, and sketches and mock-ups of her own designs.

Students who want to feature their own work may have to wait until summer, as the new Evansdale Library display area is booked through May.

As popularity grows, Strife is open to adding more floor space and display cabinets to feature more and diverse student projects. She may also partner with WVU Horticulture to add some student greenery. Even the upper floors could see new carpet and flexible seating in the future.

Evansdale Library is poised to become a campus hub, as students get comfortable and active in the new digs. After all, it was their ideas that spurred the remodeling and had the biggest impact on the reorganization.

“Students are using the space as anticipated and also in novel ways we didn’t anticipate,” Strife said. “But it’s all been effective in helping students with their studies.”

Evansdale Library will commemorate its makeover with an open house on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. The public is invited to come out and celebrate WVU Libraries’ success in turning the Evansdale Library first floor into a great space that is a big hit with students.

“This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate a success that emphasizes what WVU Libraries has done to help student learning in a space that is pleasant and functional,” Strife said.

Jo Ann Calzonetti, who served as Evansdale Library director from 1994-2001, has been invited back to remark on the transformation.

Calzonetti

The West Virginia Library Association presented Calzonetti with its highest honor, the Dora Ruth Parks Award, in 2000. In 2001, she received the University Libraries’ first Distinguished Service Award. Calzonetti is currently head of the University of Akron’s Science and Technology Library.

She will be among a number guests speaking about the library during the open house, which is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program (ILCEP) is focused on integrating information literacy into the classroom. The University’s 2010 Plan, www.wvu.edu/~2010plan, states that information literacy will be a curriculum component across all disciplines by 2010.

Broadly speaking, information literacy means the set of abilities needed for digital learning by students and instructors to make effective use of the dazzling array of information options in the 21st century university.

Each of the selected faculty participants will receive a summer stipend, or other relevant professional remuneration if 12-month faculty apply. They will work with the WVU Libraries’ Director of Instruction and Information Literacy and their librarian liaison to create discipline-specific active learning assignments outcomes that address information literacy concepts. The revised courses will be taught collaboratively during the fall 2010 or spring 2011 semester.

ILCEP Objectives include:

• To strengthen student research results and prepare them for greater academic success.
• To foster collaboration between instructors and librarians.
• To implement syllabus enhancement to include information literacy based learning outcomes and information literacy active learning assignments within the discipline.
• To encourage instructors to include the full range of the WVU Libraries’ resources, expertise, and services in course planning and delivery in courses with research expectations.
• To sponsor an Information Literacy Showcase to share the results of the course enhancements, publicize discipline based projects, and encourage more departments to get involved.

Participants will also contribute to a Showcase of Information Literacy Learning Progress Forum during the academic year.

So far, thanks to the Libraries’ ILCEP, five faculty/librarian teams have taken action to address it as a high priority in their courses: Dr. Tim Warner, a professor of geology and geography in the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences; Dr. Gonzalo Bravo, an assistant professor in the School of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences; Assistant Professor Lisa Hardman, School of Nursing, Health Sciences Center; Professor Fred Jacoby, Arts and Humanities Division, Potomac State College; and Assistant Professor Rhonda Reymond, College of Creative Arts. Their Library liaisons are librarians Virginia Bender, Linda Blake, Barbara LaGodna, Beth Royall, and Carroll Wilkinson, Director of Instruction and Information Literacy. They will share their results during the Faculty Academy in May.

To apply, visit: http://provost.wvu.edu/r/download/52700. Mail the completed application to Carroll Wilkinson, Director of Instruction and Information Literacy, PO Box 6069, Downtown Campus Library or fax: 304-293-6638. Application deadline is March 11. For more information: 304-293-0308 or carroll.wilkinson@mail.wvu.edu.

“I took a visual merchandising class and did projects within that class, but this is taking what I’ve learned and making it a real world experience,” Gill said. “I wanted to make everything look perfect and professional.”

Fashion design and merchandising senior Amanda Gill poses beside her exhibit in the Evansdale Library.

The venue is now available because of an extensive renovation project on the Evansdale Library’s first floor last summer. During the planning stage, students expressed a need for space to display their work. The revamped library includes display cabinets and floor space to accommodate requests.

“Evansdale Library is a great location to spotlight students’ work,” said Noel Kopriva, librarian for the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. “Students like to see what others are doing in class, and exhibitors can get feedback from their peers.”

Lynn Barnes, a fashion merchandising professor in the Davis College, appreciates her students having such a platform because it pushes them beyond what they would do for the usual window display.

“This is three-dimensional exhibit so they have to be aware of every nuance,” Barnes said. “Every detail has to be perfect.”

Gill made sure she got the details right in her 1970s-themed display. In selecting the clothing from the division’s historic costume collection, she chose male and female ensembles that matched each other in color and style. The accompanying cabinet contains jewelry and shoes from the period, along with a timeline of the decade, magazines, and a record.

Her effort, though, won’t earn a grade. It is part of her experience as a work study for Barnes. Also, Gill, who is president of the school’s Fashion Business Association, sees it as a way to promote her degree program.

The grade will come later in the semester when she builds a collection inspired by 1930s fashion. That exhibit will contain two gowns from costume collection and Gill’s sketches.

Evansdale Library plans to participate in a community-wide exhibit project sponsored by Barnes’ students in other FDM classes and to also host a faculty show for the Department of Fashion Merchandising later this spring. Students from the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources are also scheduled to exhibit some of their work this semester.