Culture War in the Collaborative Learning Center

Robert Michael James

Abstract

The transformation of the first floor of Joyner Library into a Collaborative Learning Center produced significant changes to collection and user spaces. Collaboration, in this context, includes students working together in groups and external (non-library) services relocating to the library. A Culture War emerged when faculty, displeased with these changes and the loss of the traditional library ethos, voiced their concerns about the future of the library at East Carolina University. This study is an analysis of the implementation of a commons in an academic research library with a focus on faculty criticism and lessons learned from the experience.