The Information Commons as an Agent of Change in Universities

Abstract

Starting in the early 1990’s academic libraries in North America and elsewhere have been adopting a new service model called the Information Commons – an integrated service facility which offers reference and technical assistance in a collaborative team environment with other academic support units. The success of this model has driven and continues to drive change within academic libraries as well as the university itself. Additional academic units are beginning to join in and create a new collaborative service delivery. This paper will identify models of collaboration in Information Commons and discuss how this collaboration is leading to a changing collaborative environment in academic institutions.