College Gets New Information
By Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
If you have a need for information that is easy to obtain, up to date and indepth then the new Paterson Library Commons a t Confederation College is the place for you. A $8 million investment by the province of Ontario in these information data bases has provided the same high level of resources online to everyone in Ontario.
“ Today was a pretty exciting day.We were able to launch what is called Knowledge Ontario which is a provincially funded government project to ensure that libraries in colleges and universities and public libraries across Ontario have access to this new digital data
base. The databases are from different areas. It will give students a comfort level that they have the same information as a student say in Toronto. It is consistent across Ontario. The databases are authoritative and peer reviewed and that is the basis of research,”
smiled Larraine Tapak, Director of the Library at Confederation College. “ It is such a richness of content, we are thrilled. This content has been reviewed by professionals in the field so we know the content is good.”
Confederation College didn't have to do much to prepare for the new data as they had the infrastructure in place. “ We worked with other librarians across the province to help implement the program. We think what is exciting is we have smart classes now all across Northern
Ontario with our latest unveiling today. Students in every classroom across NW Ontario can access these data bases,” stated Pat Lang, President of Confederation College. “ We are focussed on the computer as a learning tool. Students today need a different set of skills than
when we went to school. We need to access the knowledge and be discerning as to that which we are gathering. The knowledge of our students and faculty has changed dramatically since you and I went to school. There is a more focus on the screen. If you want to do your research at 5am you can at your home computer.”
If you are a business person in Thunder Bay you can go to your public library, get a library card and access the information from home or anyone of the local libraries. You could also visit the Paterson Library Commons in person to gain the information. “ The Paterson Library Commons was named after the Paterson family who made a $500,000 contribution to the facility. We found our students wanted zones- small group study zones , a quiet zone and family zones so we needed to restructure the way we delivered our library services to the
students,” noted Lang. “ Our students are thrilled. At any evening there are 50 to 75 students in the open area accessing the resources study groups. Our students and faculty are excited and it has brought new life into our building. It is the concept of build it and they will come. They have come out of the woodwork so much we don't know where they were studying before.”
This summer Confederation College invested $8.3 million in capital projects in total and the Paterson Library Commons was a $ 4 million project.
