Library Learning Commons
Mission
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To empower our community with resources to deepen our learning, make ethical research decisions, to embrace interdisciplinarity, and be empowered to transfer our understanding into creative solutions.
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To foster a welcoming space where all can feel supported to pursue academic work individually and collaboratively.
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To ensure the diversity of the world is incorporated in our print and digital collection and resources, allowing us to gain a wide range of perspectives, while also providing representation for all in curricula and programming.
Pingree Students, Faculty, and Staff can view the Library Learning Commons website to search the research databases, browse the catalog, and find other resources.
Spaces
From the Harte Room, the original library of the Pingree house, to the Pond Room, an expansive room for collaborative work, the Library Learning Commons offers many study spaces for students. The Quiet Library offers study carrels and comfortable seating, while breakout rooms enable students to pursue group work. A production room with a green screen is available to make videos.
Physical Collection
The Library Learning Commons offers an extensive collection of fiction and nonfiction books to discover and borrow. Students will find sources for their research projects and stories to ignite their passion for reading. Social Justice Clubs, Library Learning Commons peer tutors, and other groups on campus create curated collections to draw attention to various topics and highlight diverse voices.
Digital Resources
In addition to the robust print collection, the Library Learning Commons offers access to dozens of digital resources, ranging from ebooks and audio books, online newspapers and magazines, to research databases from EBSCO, JSTOR, Gale, and others.
Research Skills and Support
From accessing university-level research databases to finding, analyzing, and appropriately citing credible sources to discussions on the role of identity and bias in research, students are equipped with a variety of research skills. Students are exposed to various discipline-specific citation styles (MLA, APA, and Chicago Style) so they are well prepared to contribute scholarship and uphold academic honesty. The Director of the Library Learning Commons and peer tutors are available to help students with all aspects of the research process.
The other Educational Resource Centers are also available to support the research process, from the Writing Center, where students can hone their writing skills, to the Educational Research Center, where students can receive guidance in organization, planning, and time management, to the Quant Center, where students can get math and science related help, and the Makerspace, where students can creatively transfer their knowledge off the page with a variety of tools.
Pingree Super Search is a powerful tool that makes research more targeted and efficient by allowing navigation of books, articles, databases, and digital content in a single search.