By Rebecca Rose, photos by Sandra Sullivan
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, the Cumming campus is the newest campus within the consolidated University of North Georgia (UNG). Opening in August of 2012, with 400+ students, the enrollment in Cumming is now over 700 students, with more classes being added each semester to meet the needs of Forsyth County and surrounding communities. Conceived well before consolidation plans were announced, the Cumming campus was created as a collaborative effort between the former Gainesville State College and North Georgia College and State University. The typical visitor to the Learning Commons can be either a Dual Enrollment, undergraduate, and graduate student, as well as a faculty, staff, or community member.
The Learning Commons offers a cozy, café style setting that draws in students who need a place to study, relax, research, or gather. Adding to the ambiance, windows overlook nearby Sawnee Mountain, which with an elevation at over 1900 feet, is taller than both Kennesaw and Stone Mountains. Original art by the renowned artist, Win Crannell hangs on the walls, donated in honor of Dr. Sherman Day, the original Head of the Cumming campus and a former president of North Georgia College. Photography by Jack Anthony, also adorns the space with restful scenes of northern Georgia.
For convenience, technology such as laptops and graphing calculators are available for use either within the library or for checkout. A wall-mounted Smart Screen, along with the availability of 13 computer workstations, invites students to congregate within the Learning Commons, where assistance is close by with a full and part-time librarian, a graduate assistant, and student workers. Writing and math tutors are stationed within the Learning Commons four days a week. A group study room and portable white boards facilitate group study and are used regularly.
The collection is almost entirely digital, rich with offerings of over 350 subscription databases and 200,000 academic eBooks. Hard copies are shared from nearby UNG campuses or via GIL Express via couriers. For quick access, the digital collection is supplemented by hard copy textbook reserves and Ready Reference texts, such as the MLA and APA handbooks. Interlibrary loans are easily requested using ILLiad, found on the college library website.
Services offered in the Learning Commons include workshops open to students, faculty and staff.
This spring sessions were given on how to download and use ebooks and Zotero, as well as a faculty workshop on identifying potential publishers for scholarly works. Faculty may request library instruction for their classes and students may request personal appointments with the librarians.
Over the last year and a half since opening, the Learning Commons hosted programs, including an art exhibit and artist talk featuring Performance Artist, Didi Dunphy. Other programs included Dog Therapy for finals week, Open Mic, Create a Valentine, and the Cumming Campus Book Club.
Looking towards the future, the Cumming Learning Commons is acquiring iPads and cameras for circulation and additional programming for its growing student population.
To learn more, visit University of North Georgia Libraries website at http://ung.edu/libraries/
For convenience, technology such as laptops and graphing calculators are available for use either within the library or for checkout. A wall-mounted Smart Screen, along with the availability of 13 computer workstations, invites students to congregate within the Learning Commons, where assistance is close by with a full and part-time librarian, a graduate assistant, and student workers. Writing and math tutors are stationed within the Learning Commons four days a week. A group study room and portable white boards facilitate group study and are used regularly.
The collection is almost entirely digital, rich with offerings of over 350 subscription databases and 200,000 academic eBooks. Hard copies are shared from nearby UNG campuses or via GIL Express via couriers. For quick access, the digital collection is supplemented by hard copy textbook reserves and Ready Reference texts, such as the MLA and APA handbooks. Interlibrary loans are easily requested using ILLiad, found on the college library website.
Services offered in the Learning Commons include workshops open to students, faculty and staff.
Over the last year and a half since opening, the Learning Commons hosted programs, including an art exhibit and artist talk featuring Performance Artist, Didi Dunphy. Other programs included Dog Therapy for finals week, Open Mic, Create a Valentine, and the Cumming Campus Book Club.
Looking towards the future, the Cumming Learning Commons is acquiring iPads and cameras for circulation and additional programming for its growing student population.
To learn more, visit University of North Georgia Libraries website at http://ung.edu/libraries/
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