Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Science and Engineering Library Transformed

  • 10/01/13
MDC Library Collaborative Workspace 

MDC’s IdeaPaint transformed the walls of the DeLaMare Science & Engineering Library into a collaborative workspace for students.

There was a time when the library wasn’t a quiet storehouse of books. It was a vibrant place where scholars gathered to collaborate, discuss and explore. Today, that’s what you’ll find at the DeLaMare Science & Engineering Library at the University of Nevada in Reno. Under the direction of Tod Colegrove, Ph.D., MSLIS, this library has reinvented itself as a hotspot for creative thinkers who thrive in an atmosphere where the ideas are as plentiful as the books.

It was a surprisingly easy transformation: they simply coated the walls with IdeaPaint.

IdeaPaint, which is commercially sold by MDC (a leading supplier of wallcoverings and coatings), turns any smooth surface into a dry erase board. Approximately 20 percent of the DeLaMare library’s walls are now covered in IdeaPaint. It’s a total of about 1,000 square feet of floor-to-ceiling workspace on 13 walls of the four-floor library.

“The active process of learning is important, and it was our goal to turn the library into a place where new knowledge is created every day,” Colegrove explains. When he first stepped into his role as head of the library in 2009, he immediately recognized a need for sizable whiteboard space that could accommodate the kinds of work done by science and engineering students. He first thought of gluing tile boards to the walls, but the university nixed the idea. Then Colegrove heard about IdeaPaint from MDC and knew he’d found the answer. Once it was installed, the change in the library’s atmosphere was virtually immediate.

“The walls have become an incredibly collaborative workspace. It’s a powerful tool because instead of spending time learning privately, these students are solving problems together. I’ve seen an incredible range of work and ideas on the walls — lots of organic chemistry and math problems, and of course the occasional fire-breathing dragon,” Colegrove says with a smile.

www.ideapaint.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • California High School Opens New Classroom Building for 7th-, 8th-Graders

    Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently announced the completion of a new classroom building for Piner High School. As the campus transitions to a Junior/Senior High School, the facility will play home to the school’s new population of seventh- and eighth-grade students.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Haws Corporation Marks 120th Anniversary

    Haws Corporation, which provides hydration and emergency safety solutions worldwide, recently announced that the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, according to a news release.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.