Following a summer-long renovation, the Wellehan Library has made significant strides toward its mission to serve as a central Learning Commons at Saint Joseph’s College and will hold an open house on Wednesday, September 16 to showcase a variety of enhancements, new features, and an entirely new location.

Now on the ground floor of the Heffernan Center, the renovated Wellehan Library features:

—energy-saving LED lighting throughout the space;

—operating hours topping 81 hours a week;

—an expanded Quiet Study Room;

—wireless printing (b&w and color) from student devices as well as printing (b&w and color) from library computers; and

—a satellite Writing Center, Sunday through Thursday evenings.

The highlight of the new library is the private project space it provides. With four study rooms, each seating six and providing large TVs for screen sharing and whiteboards for group work (all the rooms can be reserved by visiting the library’s webpage), the library broadens the ways in which students see the space as a resource. The new One Button Studio, however, takes the identity of the library to an entirely new level for the College.

Featuring a high-definition video camera, professional-grade lighting, and highly insulated, sound-dampening walls, the One Button Studio gives students easy, professional, and convenient access to high-quality video production.

“This is the crown jewel of the space,” says Shelly Davis, the College’s director of library services. “The One Button Studio is a media production studio where all you have to do is push a button. There are an overhead projector and screen, and a Mac workstation that houses the software necessary to record a presentation. The lighting is set. The sound is set. You don’t have to tweak a thing. You simply insert your USB drive into a port, hit the button, stand in front of the screen, do your presentation, hit the button to stop, and the MP4 goes straight to your USB drive. This recording capability produces videos that can go directly online or be used for students who need to practice a presentation before they give it to a class.”

While it still houses everything one would expect from a library, the renovated Wellehan Library keeps present needs and future possibilities in mind. “To be a Learning Commons is to bring all the things together that students need outside the classroom for learning. What we have strived to create is a place where learning, collaboration, and intellectual engagement take center stage.”

The Wellehan Library will host its open house from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Davis and other library staff will be on hand to give tours of the enhancements and answer questions.

Update: For photos of the event, click here.