In more than 100 years, St. Norbert College never had a dedicated library building. Library space was located within existing buildings with the latest housed in a remodeled dormitory. To stay competitive in the education marketplace, the college determined that students deserve a state-of the-art library that expands the college’s tradition of excellence.
Thus, the new Miriam B. and James J. Mulva Library provides an educational environment that is intellectually, spiritually and personally challenging.
Utilizing KI furniture, the design exemplifies new paradigms in libraries as learning spaces. It is interactive and collaborative, promoting group gathering and knowledge sharing. Each space within the library encourages creative thinking.
Original plans for the library included very traditional furniture. Then, Library Director Felice Maciejewski attended a Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) workshop and learned the importance of flexible furniture for today’s students.
“New goals included plenty of flexible furniture and collaboration spaces for students,” says Maciejewski. “The building was already complete, so we tweaked the spaces and furniture to create collaborative opportunities. KI was instrumental in selection and arrangement of the furniture.”
KI responded to the challenge with a focus on new trends in learning, blending the social and academic aspects and shifting towards more interactive communication.
Performa Senior Design Architect Michael Flynn declares, “The architecture set the tone of accessibility. The furniture complements that focus and really works in the spaces. Together they create a wonderful dynamic integration.”
Performa President Jeff Kanzelberger adds, “With KI’s help we were able to convey how the building was intended to be used.”
Innovative Thinking
Instead of selecting “library furniture” to fit the function of the space, the planning committee selected furniture to fit the needs of the students and a new way of learning and thinking. The result is a library that features a variety of gathering places for library patrons, more computer spaces, and 50 percent more materials storage.
It offers a full range of 21st century technological capabilities from wireless internet access to meeting rooms equipped for multi-media. It now conveys an open, adaptive environment that is very flexible and accommodating. KI provided the flexible, attractive furniture that let it all happen.
“There’s a high metabolic rate in libraries today,” says Kanzelberger. “They keep changing. If new furnishings and building designs support that metabolism, that’s the measure of success.”
Maciejewski agrees, “Every single space is in use from the curriculum library to classrooms, group study areas and lounge areas. The whole place is just filled with people.”
In the Information Center, workstations support collaboration space for 2 or 3 students per computer monitor as well as individual computing. Casual lounge furniture has pull bars for easy movement and tablet arms to allow students to use their learning tools while in informal or group study settings. Spacesaver high-density shelving increases material storage capacity.
Says Flynn, “The library has become the new center of the campus. “It’s a social hub that acts as a gateway between the gown (the campus) and the town.”
The Mulva Library features a wide variety of spaces to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff. Most areas feature mobile furniture and all areas enable collaborative, interactive learning. On the latter note, an interactive virtual tour of the Mulva Library at St. Norbert College can be viewed at http://ki.com/vr/mulva/
KI manufactures innovative furniture and movable wall system solutions for education, healthcare, government and corporate markets. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wis. and operates sales offices and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. KI tailors products and service solutions to the specific needs of each customer through its unique design and manufacturing philosophy. For more information, visit www.ki.com.
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