Report: “Grambling State Makes History as First HBCU in the U.S., Only Institution in Louisiana with a Digital Library”

From KTAL:

Grambling State University entered the digital age on Thursday with a ribbon cutting to celebrate its new Digital Library and Learning Commons. They declare the $16.6 M facility is the only of its kind at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the U.S.

According to GSU, the digital library is a state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot facility where people can connect, create, and collaborate and features 150 computer stations, 17,000 square feet of study space, and multipurpose space for events, meetings, and seminars.

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Dean of GSU’s Digital Library and Learning Commons Adrienne Webber said the new facility will propel GSU and its students into a bigger and brighter future than ever before.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen with this program — we’re going to have a ‘Maker’s Space’ because our students think differently than I did when I would go to class, learn something, graduate, and do what I learned. These students today are a little different. When they think about it, they dream about it, they write about it, they draw about it and then they want to put it together and see what will happen.

“So, we need to have things like 3-D imaging and 3-D printers because they can change the world. Students at another institution designed a straw that filters water and that was later purchased by Walmart. … That can happen right here at Grambling State University because this library will have the tools that the students will use to do that.”

Webber said plans are for the library to include laser and etching machines, a cricut maker, a soldering station, hot wire cutter and plastic vending machines among other tools.

“If you think it, you can make it,” Webber said. “And then we’re going to be able to find out if an idea is an original or if someone has it already. We’re hoping to become a patent and trade resource center. These students are so creative. Their audio, video and AI skills are tremendous and we’re going to provide them with the tools to build on those skills.

“We’re going to have a digital repository, so when our students write, they can also take that and have it published. We’re going to change how people view our students. From poetry to something scientific, whatever is in the repository will be transferred to those areas. The students will not have a reason not to learn more and do more.”

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“There’s no Dewey Decimal system, no card catalog, and no dusty books for miles to go,” [Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim] Hunter said. “And no sweet librarians shushing you when you’re making too much noise. But a library is still the heartbeat of every campus, a place where students grow, gather, and collaborate. And this one is special because education today is about research, innovation, and technology around amazing online databases, AI, and information beyond that as well.

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Filed under: Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Open Access