The Cattell Library will be renovated to better equip faculty and academic staff to help Malone students develop the “love of truth and vibrant, mature faith” that is central to the Malone student experience. Adaptable and technologically enhanced spaces will facilitate individual learning, collaborative learning, tutoring, informal learning, and relationship building. These spaces will create opportunities for critical interactions with materials and with people, and will support the development of effective written and oral communication skills. The flexibility and variety of these spaces will serve learners at all points in the college learning process, from development support to independent research. Students will be encouraged to “own” and personalize these physical, and by extension, intellectual spaces so that the educational process is interactive and meaningful.

The completed area will visually communicate our learning priorities, our intellectual and theological commitments, and our church and institutional heritage.

Renovation specifics

• The Learning Commons project is more than a simple add-on to the current library design. It is the implementation of a holistic plan to support the teaching/learning needs of the campus through the co-location of several academic functions including tutoring services, writing assistance, and instruction in information literacy. The space will offer technological enhancements to support student learning, and access to and preservation of library resources.
• A variety of spaces will be included in the Learning Commons, enhanced by an array of appropriate technology that will provide students with the opportunity to work independently or to collaborate with others in surroundings that facilitate their immediate purposes.
• The renovation will increase the number of group study rooms, supporting small groups (2-4 students) and medium sized groups (5-10 students).
• The renovation will provide a designated quiet study area that is enclosed to create a sound barrier without feeling isolated from the rest of the library and will provide a much-needed space for students who need to concentrate, removed from the activity of dorm, work, or home life.
• The expanded services made possible by the renovation will enable increased assistance for students in their studies. Peer and professional tutors will have an area to facilitate their work with individuals and with small groups in each of the major disciplines.
• The renovation will provide a forum for students to discuss, explain, and present the results of their research and completed projects with the community.

Benefit to the Stark County Community

The Learning Commons will be an asset to the Stark County community as a venue for meetings, guest lecturers, poetry readings, and workshops that are all open to the public. The flexible spaces will be a resource for 100-plus local organizations and businesses with which the university has established partnerships focused on a variety of needs in Stark County.