Jan Wallace, Head of the David Lam Library, at the Canaccord Learning Commons
Students from UBC’s Sauder School of Business have flocked to the new Canaccord Learning Commons (CLC) since it opened in February. The CLC, which is Canada’s first dedicated learning commons within a business school, was made possible through a $1.5- million donation from Vancouver’s Canaccord Financial Inc. It’s an excellent example of UBC Library’s desire to enhance student learning by providing top-notch services and space for learning and research.
“When the students came through the door, we felt really emotional,” recalls Jan Wallace, Head of the David Lam Library, which makes up part of the Commons. “We were overjoyed to see them back again.”
Highlights include bookable study rooms with white boards and LCD screens, quiet and collaborative study areas, breakout rooms for tutoring and workshops that feature LCD screens and laptop hook-ups, a reading lounge that boasts magazine and book displays, print and PC workstations (some with dual monitors for finance students), reference and technology support, and a pending digital media studio. A Speaker Series has featured Josh Klein (co-author of Hacking Work) and former Premier Gordon Campbell, and more events are planned.
“People come here to interact – with technology, with librarians and with each other,” Wallace says. “It’s all meant to make the resources we have more accessible to the students. It’s really the natural evolution of the library.”
The CLC is the product of a partnership between the Lam Library, the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre, the Sauder Undergraduate Office, the MBA office, and Sauder’s Learning and Technology Services unit.
For more information, please visit http://learningcommons.sauder.ubc.ca
This story first appeared in the UBC Library Community Report (2011).