BENTONVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas Community College's library likely will have a much different look and feel by the start of the fall semester.
"We want to create a space where students want to be," said Ricky Tompkins, the college's vice president of learning.
What it offers
The Northwest Arkansas Community College library includes more than:
• 31,000 books and media items
• 180,000 e-books
• 116 databases
Source: NWACC.edu
The library will put a new emphasis on collaborative spaces so students will find it more convenient to work and study together. Old furniture that was intended to be stationary will be replaced with more modern furniture that can be easily moved around, officials said.
The changes are in line with a trend in academic libraries, said Gwen Dobbs, the college library's director.
"The way students are using the space is profoundly different. There's a huge growth in collaborative spaces," Dobbs said.
The library, which is in Burns Hall, also is getting new carpeting this summer. The carpet has not been changed since Burns Hall opened in 1995, Tompkins said.
Some minor structural changes will be made, and some books will be moved to storage areas to accommodate the new collaborative spaces.
"This will allow us to really transform what the library is today into what is called an information commons," said Tompkins, adding the library will have "a look of innovation and fun."
The Board of Trustees approved spending $238,000 on the project during its regular monthly meeting Monday. That money will come from the college's capital fund. One-third of the millage money that flows to the college is dedicated to that capital fund.
Despite the emphasis on collaborative spaces, the library will retain spaces for quiet study, Dobbs said.
In addition to approving money for the library renovation, the board on Monday approved spending $151,256 from the capital fund to renovate restrooms, art classrooms and faculty offices in Burns Hall and prepare space at the Center for Health Professions for the new headquarters of the Department of Public Safety.
Officials expect the capital fund to have just more than $4 million when this fiscal year ends June 30. They expect the fund will grow to about $4.9 million by the end of next fiscal year, said Debi Buckley, vice president of finance and administration.
Also at Monday's meeting, the board approved installation of an iron workers training apparatus in the gravel parking lot south of the Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies.
Wil-Shar Steel Erectors, a Rogers company, has asked the college to take over administration of an iron workers apprenticeship program it runs. The company is donating the apparatus, a training lab consisting of red iron trusses that can be assembled and disassembled by students.
The apparatus will measure about 20 feet by 40 feet when fully assembled, but it won't be assembled more than a few days out of each semester, said Keith Peterson, dean of the college's Workforce and Economic Development department.
The college will begin administering the program this fall with about 65 students, Peterson said.
NW News on 06/14/2016