Montclair State University - Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA

Contact:
John Patella
Office of Communications and Marketing
973-655-4333
patellaj@mail.montclair.edu

MONTCLAIR, NJ - Montclair State University, www.montclair.edu , today celebrated the opening of "Café Diem," a new library café that reflects a new vision of university libraries in the Internet age.

The sleek and modern 4,300 square-foot facility at Sprague Library offers food, beverages and wireless access to the Internet for students and staff. It also offers an example of how university libraries are changing. No longer just repositories of printed materials for solitary scholars, university libraries today are increasingly "learning cafés" where students work collaboratively within a sociable, interactive environment.

"The age-old academic mission of the library is alive and well at Montclair State University," said Judith Lin Hunt, dean of the Sprague Library. "At the same time, our library has evolved into a more diverse and exciting place where learning can take place in a number of ways -- even over cappuccino."

Advanced technology is a key element of this new learning environment and Café Diem -- a play on the University's Latin motto Carpe Diem -- incorporates the kind of leading-edge, wireless technology that lets students move seamlessly from research to more collaborative work.

As with the rest of the Sprague Library, Café Diem is on the grid of Montclair State University's high-speed, wireless network that provides students and staff with access to the Internet and various University-owned instructional, research, and administrative applications and databases. With 22,000 registered users and a 10-gigabit infrastructure, MSU's network is among the fastest and most robust in the Northeast, capable of accommodating thousands of users and large quantities of data simultaneously.

The University's network already allows students and staff to work wirelessly in all academic buildings and most student gathering spaces, such as the Student Center, and plans are in place to extend it to every square foot of the MSU campus.

"Today's students are digital natives," said Edward V. Chapel, the University's vice president for Information Technology. "They grow up in computer savvy households that have both broadband Internet connections and wireless routers that let them go from room to room with their laptops. The mobile computing environment we offer at MSU is increasingly expected by these millennial learners."

The impact of technology has been especially dramatic in the library, observed Hunt. A dozen years ago the Sprague Library subscribed to 3,000 journals and magazines in hard copy form. Today the library and its users have electronic access to 30,000 magazines and journals. Recent additions and renovations to the library have also included more comfortable, quasi-public spaces that lend themselves to the use of technology and a more social, collaborative style of learning. The addition of Café Diem is the next logical step in this evolution, Hunt added.

"Historically, cafés have always served as places of intellectual excitement and group learning, and so will Café Diem," said Hunt, noting that the library is already planning to hold a series of discussions on various subjects led by faculty members in the café.

About Montclair State University

Montclair State is New Jersey's second largest and fastest growing university. It offers the advantages of a large university--a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with a global focus, a broad variety of superior graduate programs through the doctoral level, and a diverse faculty and student body--combined with a small college's attention to students. For more information on Montclair State University, go to www.montclair.edu .

January 16, 2007


Montclair State University Opens "Café Diem" Library Café Reflects New Vision of University Libraries in the Internet Age as "Learning Cafés"
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		Contact: John Patella Office of Communications and Marketing 973-655-4333 patellaj@mail.montclair.edu MONTCLAIR, NJ - Montclair State University, www.montclair.edu , today celebrated the opening of "Café Diem," a new library café that reflects a new vision of university libraries in the Internet age. The sleek and modern 4,300 square-foot facility at Sprague Library offers food, beverages and wireless access to the Internet for students and staff. It also offers an example of how university libraries are changing. No longer just repositories of printed materials for solitary scholars, university libraries today are increasingly "learning cafés" where students work collaboratively within a sociable, interactive environment. "The age-old academic mission of the library is alive and well at Montclair State University," said Judith Lin Hunt, dean of the Sprague Library. "At the same time, our library has evolved into a more diverse and exciting place where learning can take place in a number of ways -- even over cappuccino." Advanced technology is a key element of this new learning environment and Café Diem -- a play on the University's Latin motto Carpe Diem -- incorporates the kind of leading-edge, wireless technology that lets students move seamlessly from research to more collaborative work. As with the rest of the Sprague Library, Café Diem is on the grid of Montclair State University's high-speed, wireless network that provides students and staff with access to the Internet and various University-owned instructional, research, and administrative applications and databases. With 22,000 registered users and a 10-gigabit infrastructure, MSU's network is among the fastest and most robust in the Northeast, capable of accommodating thousands of users and large quantities of data simultaneously. The University's network already allows students and staff to work wirelessly in all academic buildings and most student gathering spaces, such as the Student Center, and plans are in place to extend it to every square foot of the MSU campus. "Today's students are digital natives," said Edward V. Chapel, the University's vice president for Information Technology. "They grow up in computer savvy households that have both broadband Internet connections and wireless routers that let them go from room to room with their laptops. The mobile computing environment we offer at MSU is increasingly expected by these millennial learners." The impact of technology has been especially dramatic in the library, observed Hunt. A dozen years ago the Sprague Library subscribed to 3,000 journals and magazines in hard copy form. Today the library and its users have electronic access to 30,000 magazines and journals. Recent additions and renovations to the library have also included more comfortable, quasi-public spaces that lend themselves to the use of technology and a more social, collaborative style of learning. The addition of Café Diem is the next logical step in this evolution, Hunt added. "Historically, cafés have always served as places of intellectual excitement and group learning, and so will Café Diem," said Hunt, noting that the library is already planning to hold a series of discussions on various subjects led by faculty members in the café. About Montclair State University Montclair State is New Jersey's second largest and fastest growing university. It offers the advantages of a large university--a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with a global focus, a broad variety of superior graduate programs through the doctoral level, and a diverse faculty and student body--combined with a small college's attention to students. For more information on Montclair State University, go to www.montclair.edu . January 16, 2007 (Go to the Past News Releases)
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