Implementing the learning commons in a Middle Eastern University Library: The case of Zayed University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Source of Publication

The Global Librarian

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

Librarians pursuing global stage opportunities find themselves facing challenges and situations that may not exist in their own home countries. As more young people are being given the opportunity to pursue higher education in the United Arab Emirates, librarians find themselves stepping back and rethinking their traditional approaches to information literacy, library services and hours of operation to meet needs of their patrons in the host country. Recently, more Middle Eastern Institutions of higher education have become interested in the Learning Commons (LC) Model that has been popular in North America, Europe and Australia. The collaborative culture of the people in the Middle East makes it interesting to see how the implementation of LC evolves. The United Arab Emirates has invited many expatriates who include librarians to boost personnel requirements in many sectors, including the academic. The result is a group of professional librarians from various cultures and backgrounds serving an almost completely homogenous group of patrons. They therefore have to learn and adapt to a new environment. This chapter explores the introduction of the learning commons model and its impact on the library’s importance to student success at the collegiate level.

ISBN

9781629218335

First Page

135

Last Page

155

Disciplines

Library and Information Science

Keywords

Implementing, Learning commons, Middle eastern university, Library, Case, Zayed University

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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