Students: take a well-deserved break from final exams, refresh and recharge at the library. The UT Libraries will once again offer finals week activities to help students “De-Stress for Success.”

Activities in Hodges Library begin on Study Day, April 29. UT’s Student Assessment of Instruction System will host a free ice cream social from noon to 2 p.m.

Other events that begin on Study Day will continue throughout final exams (April 30, May 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7).

Student Health Center staff will be on hand each day, from 10 a.m. to noon, to provide tips for healthful eating, better study habits, and handling stress.

Knoxville Massage Therapy Center therapists will give free chair massages in the Commons from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday, April 29, through Friday, May 3, and on Monday, May 6.

Everyone’s other favorite therapists — the HABIT (Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee) therapy dogs — will be on hand in the Mary E. Greer Room, 258 Hodges Library: noon to 2 p.m., Monday, April 29, through Friday, May 3; 5 to 7 p.m., Monday, April 29, through Thursday, May 2; and noon to 2 p.m., Monday, May 6.

HABIT dogs will visit Pendergrass Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine Library on Study Day, Monday, April 29, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Throughout the week, room 251 in Hodges Library will offer games, cartoons, and coloring books to help students relax and unwind. Pendergrass Library and the Music Library will both provide a craft table, outdoor games, and refreshments (while they last!).

Free Chair Massages in the Commons, Hodges Library:

1-4 p.m., Monday, April 29 – Friday, May 3
1-4 p.m., Monday, May 6

HABIT dogs in 258 Hodges Library:

Noon – 2 p.m., Monday, April 29 – Friday, May 3
5-7 p.m., Monday, April 29 – Thursday, May 2
Noon – 2 p.m., Monday, May 6

HABIT dogs in Pendergrass Library:

11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday, April 29

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De-Stress for Success sponsors include the UT Libraries, the Student Success Center, Student Assessment of Instruction System, UT Parents Association, School of Information Sciences, and Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee.

Don’t you just love the new Commons? UT students do. Come find out what the buzz is all about: join us to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Commons in the Hodges Library.

The campus community and the public are invited to a Street Fair — featuring music, games, and prizes — to be held from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, Thursday, February 7, in the Commons on the 2nd floor of the John C. Hodges Library (1015 Volunteer Blvd.). Remarks by the UT chancellor, provost, dean of libraries, and assistant vice chancellor/CIO will take place at 3:30 pm.

Prizes to be given away at the event include two 23-inch ultra-sharp monitors, a printer, cell phone accessories, a laptop backpack, VolPrint cards, and Starbucks gift baskets.

Our Library Friends are invited to join us at 4:30 p.m. in the Mary E. Greer Room, 258 Hodges Library, for a reception and guided tours of the Commons.

The Commons, a collaboration of the UT Libraries and Office of Information Technology, brings together all the tools students need to succeed: technology, research assistance, even tutoring and advising services. It’s where students go to collaborate on projects, consult a librarian, create a video, or just catch up with friends. The Commons is a lively social gathering place, open 24 hours a day and offering comfortable, inviting furnishings—even a coffee shop.

This year the Commons underwent extensive renovations under the direction of McCarty Holsaple McCarty, the original architects, 25 years ago, of the current John C. Hodges Library. They have adapted our stately legacy space to meet the unique needs of UT’s 21st century scholars.

Please join us on February 7 to see why UT students find the Commons so exciting.

Students: take a well-deserved break from final exams, refresh and recharge at the Library! The UT Libraries will once again offer finals week activities to help students De-Stress for Success.

Begin with a “Chill Out Study Break.” UT’s Student Assessment of Instruction System will offer free popsicles from noon to 2 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, in the Commons, 2nd floor, Hodges Library.

Follow up with a free chair massage. Staff from the Knoxville Massage Therapy Center will give free massages in the Commons from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, Dec. 5-7, and Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 10-12.

Throughout Finals week, room 251 in Hodges Library will be stocked with games, comics, and sketch pads to help students relax and unwind. The Student Health Center will be on hand (10 a.m. to noon, Mon., Dec. 5; and noon to 2 p.m., Dec. 6-7 and 10-12) to offer information on proper eating and study habits during the stressful exam period.

The Music Library and the Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine Library will offer refreshments to their patrons.

And watch for HABIT (Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee) therapy dogs! They’ll be visiting both Hodges Library and the School of Information Sciences.

HABIT dogs will be in 258 Hodges Library:

Wed., Dec. 5 — 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 6 — 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 7 — noon – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 10 — noon – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 11 — 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 12 — noon – 2:00 p.m.; 5:00-7:00 p.m.

HABIT dogs will be in the Scripps Lounge, 402 Communications Bldg.:

Thurs., Dec. 6 — 10:00 a.m. – noon; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 7 — 10:00 a.m. – noon; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 10 — 10:00 a.m. – noon; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 11 — 10:00 a.m. – noon; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

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De-Stress for Success sponsors include the UT Libraries, the Student Success Center, UT Parents Association, Office of Alumni Affairs, Student Government Association, Graduate Student Senate, and School of Information Sciences.

Commons South reopened today! The space filled with students minutes after the yellow “Caution” tape came down.

The new Commons South houses dozens and dozens of computer workstations. Commons South is also a center for group work, with eleven new and spacious group study rooms and five work areas featuring media:scape™ furnishings that allow students to walk up, plug in their own laptops, and confer on group projects. Black-and-white, color, and wireless printing are all available in Commons South.

With both Commons North and Commons South now open, all computing services are conveniently located along a north-south axis, clearly visible from the east end of the second floor galleria. On the north end of the axis are the OIT Help Desk (Net IDs & passwords, email, MYUTK), Computer Support (internet access, viruses & spyware) and Lab Services. Commons South hosts Desktop Support (computer and printing issues), the Studio (media production), and — as of 7 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) — equipment checkout.

And . . . a hallway that bisects the line of service desks leads directly from Commons South into Starbucks!

Computers and printers are now available in Commons North, which reopened earlier this week. Service points are not in their final configuration, but staff are present to direct students to needed services.

The study area outside Starbucks’ new, west-facing entrance has reopened with café seating and comfortable, curved couches.

More improvements will be evident soon.

A large portion of the Commons in the Hodges Library should reopen in mid-October. Both Commons North and Commons South are nearing completion. New glass-enclosed group study rooms that admit ample natural light have been built around the perimeters. Service desks, computer tables, and booth-style seating are already in place. Library and OIT staff will begin installing computers and printers later this week.

The Commons has been undergoing renovations since early summer. Renovating an entire floor of the Hodges Library has entailed a complex choreography of temporary relocations of services and staff offices. Library staff recently reoccupied the updated Circulation/Media/Reserve service desk and office area just inside the Melrose Place entrance, freeing up space outside Starbucks’ new west-facing entrance for the upcoming installation of expanded café seating.

When students return from Fall Break, they should see real progress. Some exciting improvements are already apparent. Entrances to Commons North and Commons South have been widened, and a series of service desks are clearly visible across the entire expanse, north to south, of the second floor of Hodges. One need only peek over the construction barrier into Commons North to see the zig-zag computer tables and a serpentine arrangement of easy chairs. Commons South boasts new media:scape™ furniture that will allow students to walk up, plug in their own laptops, and confer on group projects.

The centralization of service desks means that students will be able to check out all equipment — laptops, scanners, video cameras, headphones, voice recorders and more — from one convenient location in Commons South. The Studio, now centrally located in Commons South, will offer more recording and video studios. Commons North will provide dedicated spaces for the Student Success Center, the Writing Center, Stat Lab, and the Math Tutorial Center.

It won’t be long now!

We’re making real progress on the Commons! Renovations are underway in all quadrants of the Hodges Library second floor, but one quadrant is all but completed. Library staff have reoccupied the updated Circulation/Media/Reserve service desk and offices in the northwest corner. Book and equipment checkout have resumed at that location.

We don’t know how they did it, but the architects have made the square-footage of the Circulation area seem twice as spacious. Thank you, McCarty Holsaple McCarty!

Commons South is still on-target to reopen around mid-October. And it appears that Commons North will open around the same date. There is visible progress: if you peek over the construction barrier into Commons North, you can see the zig-zag computer tables and a serpentine arrangement of easy chairs.

We appreciate your patience and hope that — along with us — you are eagerly anticipating the unveiling of a new and better Commons.

Hodges Library Commons to Open at the End of the Month

If you have visited the Hodges Library lately, it will come as no surprise that the much-anticipated renovations to the Commons will not be completed by the beginning of the fall semester.

But we promise it will be worth the wait! The pay-off for some temporary inconvenience will be more group study spaces, more natural light, and exciting new media:scape furniture to facilitate collaborative projects. Services will be better organized, grouping academic consulting in one area and all equipment checkout at a single service point.

In the meantime, Commons services will be available at these temporary locations:

 

SERVICES	LOCATIONS Beginning of Fall 2012
Circulation/Media/Reserve	2nd floor, Melrose entrance
Digital Media Service (DMS)	2nd floor, Rm. 209
Instructional Support (formerly ITC)	1st floor, Rm. 135H
Laptop and Equipment Checkout	2nd floor, Melrose entrance
OIT HelpDesk & Computer Support	2nd floor, Rm. 251
OIT Lab Services	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135
Research Assistance	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135
Starbucks	2nd floor, Main Street
START Program	1st floor, Rm. 135H
Stat Lab	No service point until September
Student Success Center	Greeve Hall, Rm. 324
The Studio	2nd floor, Rm. 211
UT Bookstore	2nd floor, Main Street
Writing Center	1st floor, Rm. 135G

 

TECHNOLOGY	LOCATIONS Beginning of Fall 2012
Adjustable Height Workstation	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135
Color Printing	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135 2nd floor, Studio/Rm. 211
Copier (VolCard)	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135
Copier (CopyCard)	1st floor, Special Collections Rm. 121
DART Machine	1st floors, Reference Rm. 135
Print Express	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135
Sorensen VideoPhone	2nd floor, Studio/Rm. 211
Wireless Printing Stations	1st floor, Reference Rm. 135 Floors 3-6, across from elevators

 

We apologize for the inconvenience, noise, and dust. Please continue to visit the Commons on the 2nd floor of Hodges Library for your research and technology needs. The Commons is open every day. And, Sunday through Friday, we're open round-the-clock!

Bookmark this site and return here for progress reports on the Commons renovation.

A wireless print release station is available at Pendergrass Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine.

The closure of Melrose Street has been moved to Wednesday. Again, work on the road should take about a week.