“A resounding success!” A case study of the transformative impact of the new

library at Maynooth UniversityCathal McCauley & Hugh Murphy

IFLA LBES Satellite, August 10-11 2016

Institutional context

MU Library

Maynooth University

Maynooth town

St Patrick’s College

Maynooth

“Town and gown”

Rationale for new library

• Significant institutional growth

• Longstanding concerns

• Catalyst for change (internal and external)

• Remove ‘barriers’

MU Library

Initial challenges

• Financial crash

• Establishing a consensus on campus

• Developing the expertise

• Engaging with the local community

MU Library

FeedbackStudents Faculty Wider Community

‘Green’ building Dedicated PG / staff space Publicly accessible areas

More electrical outlets Exhibitions area Café

Diversity of learning styles catered for

Meeting rooms Exhibitions area

Dedicated postgraduate/staff space

Non-timetabled space Community space

Training spaces Café Exemplar building

Personal service & support Library staff area refurbished Welcoming building

Opening hours Subject ‘ghettos’ – disciplines confined to old areas

Café

Sense of pride

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Commencement

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• Government approval

• Architect

• Contractor

• Sustaining momentum

• ‘Beacon of hope’

• Minimising impact

Catalyst for change

• Evolution of building, space and profession

• Change where we work / change how we work

• Organisational review: 2011-12

• New organisational structure for a new space

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Old structure

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New structure

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A transformative project?

• Learning environments

• Collections

• Strategic

• Professional

• Nexus for collaboration

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Learning environments

• Need for flexibility of space

• Variety of learning styles

• Future proof

• Evaluate and understand

MU Library

Collections

• Reassess

• Reconfigure

• Showcase and highlight

• Death of print?

• UDCs

• Accessibility

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Strategic

• Building as enabler

• Show what we can deliver

• Redefine our role

• Strategic prominence

• Professional

• Cultural hub

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Strategic prominence

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Professional responsibilities

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Cultural hub

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Nexus for collaboration

• Neutral space

• ‘Town and gown’

• A ‘public’ library?

• Challenges

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Metrics – the hard

• 216% increase in seating

• 147% increase in space

• 130% increase in shelving

• Consistent rise in footfall

• Consistent rise in online interaction

• New spaces

• New users

• New role

MU Library

Metrics – the soft

MU Library

“a resounding success”2015 Quality review peer review group report

Libqual improvement

Social media

Transformation via• Ongoing collaboration with user groups and the wider community at every

stage of the process and beyond

• Restructuring of library organisationally in parallel with the physical redevelopment to ensure that the maximum benefit was extracted from the project

• New building facilitates the development of vital services that impact on the student experience e.g. opening hours and bespoke training suites

• An ability to strike a balance between traditional roles e.g. housing collections appropriately and newer roles e.g. social and cultural hub

• The teaching and learning spaces have become the benchmark on campus for such spaces, with ongoing discussions about the possibility of the library taking on responsibility for all teaching and learning space on campus due to the success of the project.

• Enhanced involvement with colleagues nationally and internationally who wish to learn about our spaces

MU Library

Thank you,

go raibh maith agaibh

Cathal McCauley

University LibrarianCathal.McCauley@nuim.ie

@cathalmccauley

Hugh Murphy

Senior Librarian, CMSHugh.murphy@nuim.ie

@hughtweet

MU Library