A Field Guide to the Information Commons

Forrest (library facilities management and planning) and Halbert (digital innovations, both with Emory U. General Libraries, Georgia) present readers involved in the design of library IT facilities with this collection of articles, case studies, and field guide entries that make examples of information commons in 29 university libraries around the world. Topics of the articles include: origin and development of the information commons in academic libraries, characteristics of and the use of space in information commons, challenges and issues in digital facility design, technology, and customization of facilities. Each field guide entry provides information on the school's Carnegie classification, purposes of the center, its location and square footage, average usage, the services and software included, print resources, staff, budget, publicity and promotion, and methods of evaluation. A floor plan is also provided. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Charles Forrest is Director of Library Facilities Management and Planning at the Emory University General Libraries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Martin Halbert is Director of Digital Innovations at the Emory University General Libraries in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also president of the MetaArchive Cooperative, an international digital preservation collaborative service for cultural memory organizations.