University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 10

By Natasha Veeser

Inspiring Spaces
The University of Wisconsin–Madison
Libraries are always searching for ways
to improve the user experience. This fall,
graduate students have a new space in
Memorial Library dedicated to their unique
needs, with the unveiling of the Graduate
Study Room.
Plans to renovate
the 3,000-square-foot
space, located on the
fourth floor, began in
2014. With more than
9,000 graduate students
at UW–Madison,
Memorial Library
group study room
reservations (requested
by both undergraduate
and graduate students)
regularly hover near 85 percent occupancy
during the semester. The need for traditional
library study spaces for use by graduate
students, combined with the evolving nature
of their work through technology and
resource gathering, resulted in a growing
need to create a modern, secure, drop-in, and
collaborative space to facilitate work not
possible elsewhere within Memorial Library.
“For too long our graduate students have
been relegated to the famed cages. While
those solitary and quiet areas are conducive
to some aspects of graduate study, it’s not
realistic to think they meet all the needs
of our students,” said Ed Van Gemert,
Vice Provost for Libraries and University
Librarian. “This space is designed to
facilitate collaborative work with classmate s,
encourage cross-disciplinary conversations,

and allow students to work in an open, yet
professional environment.”
With a maximum seating capacity of 80
people, the room allows for both solo work
and work in small groups. The space offers an
open floor plan, individual lighting controls
in most work spaces, an abundance of power
outlets, reservable space to practice and
capture presentations for review, as well as
lockers and display screens with wireless
access. The modern layout and furniture are
designed to reflect professional workspaces
today, while offering a nod to the era in
which Memorial Library was built.
The new graduate study room is just one
example of the Libraries’ push to repurpose
their spaces and reinvigorate the different
ways in which the Libraries serve their
users. Throughout the renovation process,
the Libraries received enthusiastic responses
from campus administration, faculty, staff,
and students in favor of creating a space
specifically for graduate students.
“A dedicated space for graduate students
with workspaces able to accommodate groups

Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Provosts Paul DeLuca and Sarah
Mangelsdorf, and Vice Provost for Libraries Ed Van Gemert open
the new Graduate Study Room in Memorial Library.

10 | LIBRARIES Fall 2016

of varying sizes, combined with ready access
to the rich resources of Memorial Library,
and especially the deep subject expertise and
reference skills of library personnel, would
be crucial to this enterprise,” said Professor
Florence C. Hsia, in a letter of support for
the project. Hsia works in the Department of
History of Science.
“A space in the library for just graduate
students would be a great place to work on
research, since it would be very conducive
to planned and serendipitous collaborative
work,” said PhD English Candidate Catherine
DeRose during the planning phase. “A
graduate student space would diminish the
silo effects department offices have and
would instead bring us into contact with one
another in a common space.”
Van Gemert said the new space, which
he credits former Provost Paul DeLuca and
current Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf for
championing, will serve as a model for future
library renovations around campus.
“This is another example of Libraries
creating inspirational, flexible, and
sustainable spaces, like we’ve demonstrated
with WisCEL, Design Lab, and the
BioCommons,” said Van Gemert. “We’re here
to help build community and provide our
users with a variety of valuable resources.”
Access to the new graduate study room
will be controlled by a card reader at its
entrance. Authorization will be granted to
graduate students who register and will be
available any time Memorial Library is open.

go.wisc.edu/GradRoom

Top: Construction on the Graduate Study Room
Above: Students are shown around the newly opened Graduate Study Room by library staff

“We’re here to help build community and provide our users with a variety of
valuable resources.”
~ Ed Van Gemert, Vice Provost for
Libraries and University Librarian

University of Wisconsin–Madison | 11

More Information

University of
Wisconsin–Madison
Libraries Announce
Opening of New
Graduate Study Room
in Memorial Library