NMSU Library to host open house event, introduce new learning lab

The new fall semester comes with new opportunities for students to explore at New Mexico State University’s Library, and the community will have the chance to experience some new features during an open house event in September.

NMSU Library will host the open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, at both Zuhl and Branson libraries at the main campus. Students, faculty and community members are invited to join and enjoy refreshments throughout the day.

The centerpiece of the open house will be the introduction of the library’s new Emerging Technologies Learning Lab, which is an exciting new space in Branson Library where members of the NMSU community can experience a variety of technology in a collaborative space.

“The mission of the Emerging Technologies Learning Lab is to help students understand the relationship between technology, information and knowledge,” said Kevin Comerford, dean of the NMSU Library. “ETL is an open lab space that any NMSU student may use to develop or enhance their digital fluency skills and apply them to their own particular field of study.”

Digital fluency is a step beyond information literacy, Comerford said, and helps remove social, cultural, employment and advancement barriers. “It provides students with the ability to be more competitive in both academia and the employment marketplace. The lab currently has 12 state-of-the-art Alienware computers with 38-inch curved ultrawide monitors, a Meta Quest 2 VR headset, a 3D printer, Arduino kits, and more.”

The Archives and Special Collections department will also exhibit historic papers and photographs from the Amador family project, and display tables in Branson and Zuhl will show more of the library's resources and services. New this semester, the library is adding a variety of resources to help students use their time at the library more effectively and study in comfort.

"The library is installing a new interactive resource directory for students that will be available on touchscreen kiosks and the web,” Comerford explained. “New study furniture and innovative new ‘study pods’ are also being added to both Zuhl and Branson libraries that will provide a variety of new options for studying or collaborating in the library. The library will also be expanding its ‘Article Galaxy’ electronic journal access service, which will enable faculty to quickly download articles from journal publishers like Elsevier.”

Comerford added that a new family workstation is now in Zuhl library, and it provides desk space for studying attached to a playpen where student parents can attend to small children. Another new feature is the student meditation and prayer space, and library staff will show examples of other remodeling projects that will go on later this semester.

To learn more about the new Emerging Technologies Learning Lab, visit https://nmsu.libguides.com/ETL. For a look at events happening this semester at the NMSU Library, visit https://nmsu.libcal.com/.