When I first approached Emily Rimland, Information Literacy Librarian at Penn State, over the summer with the idea about doing blog posts about the library, one of the first things mentioned to me was the new Tombros and McWhirter Knowledge Commons renovations at the Pattee/Paterno library.  However excited the librarians were about this project, it was too far away from completion to talk about over the summer.  Now, though, the dream is turning into a reality.

I’m sure you all noticed the construction around the library throughout the fall semester.  And if you have walked through the library with your eyes open, you’re aware that some major changes took place.  During my Monday-Wednesday-Friday forays into the library last semester, I saw a variety of changes, including: construction around the area near the Gateway Commons where the main desk used to be, the removal of the stuffed “Nittany” lion, and a variety of construction projects which blocked off the wings of the library for quite some time.  Though the noise and obstructions caused some minor inconveniences, I knew there were many great changes to come.

The Knowledge Commons is a multi-million dollar, privately funded enterprise focused on making the library more user-friendly for all.  The renovations take up the first floor of Pattee Library, and there is a new head librarian specifically in charge of this area: Joe Fennewald, a librarian from the Worthington Scranton campus.  There will be a larger, more updated computer lab, which houses easily the coolest feature of the new library: the librarians who will always be around to help out with any questions students have.  These librarians will be able to take their extensive knowledge of books, the CAT, new technologies, and other library resources to help you with anything you may need, be it advice on projects, papers, or just a refresher on some of the new tech available for you to use in and outside of class.  Though the library has so much for us already, the Knowledge Commons will make it that much easier for everyone to have immediate access to the best resource our library has to offer: the expertise of those who work there.  

This is a major deal for all undergraduates, as we will be able to use the library for so many additional resources, besides just searching for a book online and having it magically appear at the desk a few days later.  The Knowledge Commons is now up and running.  I hope you all get a chance to visit the Knowledge Commons and check out all the new features the library has to offer!