ICML 2009: Library Tours: UQ Library

The University of Queensland (UQ) Library
The award-winning UQ Library is the largest research library in Queensland and an integral part of university life. The Social Sciences and Humanities Library and the Biological Sciences Library are two of the largest of its 14 branches.

The Biological Sciences Library provides resources and services to support the teaching, learning and research needs of staff and students in the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, the Institute of Molecular Biosciences and the Queensland Brain Institute.
The library was formed over thirty years ago from an amalgamation of several smaller departmental library collections, including biological, health and veterinary sciences. The building was designed by architect Robin Gibson in the late 1970s and has been refurbished in several stages since that time. The recent refurbishment designed by Wilson Architects was completed at the end of 2006 at a cost of 13.5 million dollars.  The new facility provides 3375 square metres spread over four floors. It caters for diverse learning experiences where printed and digital information is combined in an entirely user-focused environment.

“Students work collaboratively in spaces that support today's social and learning patterns. These spaces include discussion rooms complete with data-projectors and plasma screens, three training rooms, more than 200 computers, a graduate study centre, AV booths, as well as a mix of individual and group study spaces”. 
It is the only University of Queensland Library that has extended opening hours from 7.30am till 12 midnight, Monday to Friday, a move which has proved incredibly popular with the patrons.   

The Social Sciences and Humanities Library provides resources and services to support the teaching, learning and research needs of staff and students in the Faculty of Arts; Faculty of Business, Economics and Law; and the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

The refurbishment of the building in 1998 marked a departure from the image of the Library primarily as a keeper of the books and a place for storing materials, seating readers, accommodating staff and servicing people from desks.  The design brief for the refurbishment focused on making facilities easier and more appealing to use and to provide a window on the world of knowledge designed around client access and use of real and virtual information resources.
A major change also saw the amalgamation of two libraries, the Undergraduate and the main academic research library, bringing together two distinct cultures into a creative space.  The library was formed by the underground link as a central service point housing the workstations, reference collection, loans and reference desk. 
This tour will begin with a 15 minute talk about the development of new learning spaces based on research conducted with the University of Queensland student population in 2008.  On this tour you will explore the learning spaces at the Biological Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities Libraries.

http://www.library.uq.edu.au/

Where: Meet in the Foyer, Ground Floor, Duhig Bldg (Bldg 2)
See map below Building number 2. and TransLink for details
When:  Monday 31 August, 10am and 2pm; Tuesday 1 September, 2pm
Duration:  Approximately 1 hr