Stanford
Engineering
Library
Envisioning an
Evolving Facility
Sarah Lester
Engineering Outreach Librarian
Stanford University
ASEE/ELD Annual Conference
Louisville, June 22, 2010
What prompted the change
 2005 School of
Engineering begins fundraising for new
Engineering Center
 Center should be more student focused
 A showcase for the school
 Cutting edge technology
 The
Engineering Center is part of a larger plan by the
School for the Science and Engineering Quad, bringing
together cross disciplinary research groups to support
collaboration.
What prompted the change (cont.)
 In
response to the School of Engineering’s plans, the
University Librarian implements a visioning process to
rethink the library
 Focus on digital
 Less space with more staff
 Innovation and more technology
 Collaboration with faculty and students
 Outcome is “SEQ2 Library Vision: The Information
Collaboratory”
School of Engineering Quad
Student spaces in Huang
Engineering Center
Student spaces in the library
Scope of the changes
Past (2007/2009)
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16,000 ft2
 15 study tables
 56 study carrels
 12 soft seating
 12 public kiosks
 6 photocopiers
 SOE cluster 11 computers
60,000 print books
print reference (3,000 vol)
print journals (27,000 vol)
Theses on site (8,000 vol)
2 Subject Specialists
4.5 Library Assistants
Planned (2010/11)
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6,000 ft2
 7 study tables
 10 study carrels
 14 soft seating
 4 public kiosks
 1photocopier
 SOE cluster 6 computers
20,000 print books + 40,000 e-books
e-reference and web tools
e-journals (only); 100 print browsing
Online theses and dissertations
4 Subject Specialists
3 FTE Library Assistants
Preparing for the new library
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“Downsizing” the collection
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Key determinants in what was retained on site
 Age
 Usage
 Online availability
 Faculty request
96,000 items were transferred to auxiliary storage (incl. serials)
Collection integration
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Computer Science collection was moved to Engineering from Math Library
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Physics collection moving in due to closure of Physics Library
Changes in purchasing
Many more items are purchased electronic only
New library opens August 2, 2010
Some features of our new library
Stephen
Timoshenko
Collection Blending the old
with the new
Furniture is
movable
allowing
students to
define the
space
RFID with self
checkout
Center
stacks are
low (45”) to
optimize light
Librarian “offices”
are out in the
open
New technology in the library
 Digital Bulletin Board –
Library events and information
plus School of Engineering events, student projects
 E-readers– Kindles, Sony e-readers for students to borrow
 Rolling display board with touch capability for group
presentations
 Touch screen information kiosk for basic library
information
 iPhone for reference questions and to test mobile apps
 iPad for experimenting with content
 RFID system for book self-check out
Our future plans
 New
Service and Outreach Model
 Becoming more
embedded in our subject areas
 Thinking “outside the Octagon” – going where the
students are
 More classes and workshops
 Helping students and faculty manage unique collections
 Digitizing content
 Managing data
More information about the
Stanford Engineering Library
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Stanford Engineering Library homepage
http://englib.stanford.edu
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New Engineering Library page (press and fact sheets)
http://lib.stanford.edu/engineering-library/newlibrary
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SEQ2 Library Vision: The Information Collaboratory
http://library.stanford.edu/about_sulair/SULAIR_SEQ2_Library_Vision_revision_1.pdf
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Stanford School of Engineering – Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center
http://soe.stanford.edu/visit/huang_center/index.html
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Stanford’s Science and Engineering Quad (SEQ) - Innovation Through
Collaboration
https://pgnet22.stanford.edu/get/file/g2sdoc/SEQ2Overview.pdf