In its first full year, D.H. Hill Library’s Learning Commons gave students opportunities for collaborative learning, new workstations and a sense of “whimsy” in its design and may influence the direction of the rest of the library, according to director Joe Williams.

“It’s great to see it being used and being a success,” Williams said.

The Learning Commons opened in March 2007 in the East Wing, and Williams said it added 100 workstations, along with two study rooms that include LCD screens and a practice presentation room.

The workstations include primarily Apple computers, and there are numerous chairs and tables scattered across to provide area for study, with added features such as dry-erase boards as well.

The ideas used in the Learning Commons have influenced other additions to D.H. Hill, Williams said, with new colorful soft chairs in the circulation lobby and added LCD screens and dry-erase boards in study rooms throughout the library.

“There are elements of this space that we’ve started implementing in other areas of the library,” he said.

The library will upgrade its West Wing in the future, he said.

Ravi Komandurl, a senior in electrical engineering, mapped out physics equations on a dry-erase board in the commons Wednesday afternoon.

“I use it for anything which is difficult to type,” he said. “It’s easier to write out[equations] than type.”

Komandurl also said he used the commons to rent laptops.

Mp3 players, graphing calculators, GPS receivers, USB flash drives and laptops, including new Apple Macbook Airs, are available for rent, according to Williams.

One of the main focuses in the commons is collaborative learning between students, Williams said, and the Herman Miller-designed tables serve that purpose.

They are set to specific angles “that make it easy for people to talk and discuss [their work]”, he said.

“We didn’t settle for the typical,” he said. “Students do real work here, and they needed real tools to support their work, and that included the furniture.”

There are also video game systems set up in the middle of the commons, which Riley Cumberland, a junior in nuclear engineering, said improves the environment of the library.

“It gives the place a more relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a place where you work and have fun.”

He doesn’t mind any noise from the games, he said, as there are other places available for quiet studying.

Williams said he anticipates more students than normal in the coming weeks.

“We’re exponentially busier during exam time,” he said.

The library used students and faculty during the planning of this expansion, Williams said, and that involvement continues.

“Since the commons has opened, [we have] also established a small committee of student advisors that meet monthly,” he said.

The committee members discuss what is and is not working within the library, and their input has led to the addition of numerous devices to the technical program, including graphing calculators, according to Williams.

“We’re committed to responding to student needs and requests,” Williams said. “We want this to be a student-driven space.”