A Collaborative Community

 Kaelyn Shaw

CO

Montgomery, S. E., & Miller, J. (2011). The Third Place: The Library as Collaborative and Community Space in a Time of Fiscal Restraint. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 18(2/3), 228-238. doi:10.1080/10691316.2011.577683 

Profile of Rollins College’s Olin Library serves as a model for the campus library’s reinvention as a “third place” offering students a collaborative community-building environment in which they can both utilize library-stored learning materials, as well as share information in an informal and casual workspace.  Rollins College demonstrates that in spite of the “new normal” of budget constraints and space/staff reductions, a thriving learning community can and should be built to enhance student and faculty participation and interaction with each other and library materials.  Literature reviews suggests such a “third place” preserves the traditional library model while allowing space to increase community and collaborative learning.