Inquiry Labs at Powell Library

Participatory redesign of four UCLA Library learning spaces

UCLA Library 2012–2016

Summary

The Inquiry Labs were developed through a participatory redesign initiative that transformed two UCLA Library computer classrooms and two open learning spaces. Students and staff were central to the design process, shaping both the physical layout and the service models.

My role

Co-designer; led the participatory design process, centering student voices in space and service decisions.

Core capabilities

Participatory design facilitation · Physical and digital service integration · Community-centered space design

Tags

participatory design · space design · UCLA · service design · learning spaces

The design and launch of the Inquiry Labs was a remarkable experience. I’m proud of the hard work, dedication, and inspiration our team devoted to this process. These redesigned spaces and services have inspired our staff, campus partners, and most importantly, our students.

I developed a design process that balanced the need to move forward quickly with participatory community engagement. Throughout the project, I gathered feedback from diverse stakeholders across the library and campus, conducting participatory design sessions with librarians, library assistants, and students in our team meetings. I also gathered ideas and insights from a wide range of library working groups and campus partners. Collecting and reconciling these diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives and bringing them to our professional design team was both challenging and well worth the effort.

The result was the transformation of four spaces built around an integrated vision for service and space design.

• Inquiry Lab 1, our transformed classroom, has increased collaborative work among First Year Experience/Freshman Cluster instructors and is described by faculty and TAs as one of the best teaching spaces on campus.

• The InqDrop, formerly used for storage, has become a cozy “collaboration den” perfect for small groups, hosting Library FYE Team meetings and fostering creativity.

• InqLab 2 has proven exceptionally versatile—housing the Undergraduate Writing Center’s library location, extending the Academic Advancement Program’s tutoring space, providing meeting space for library staff and student groups, and even serving as a green room for performers.

• The InqSpace in 220 Powell underwent the largest transformation, changing from a staff-only area to a vibrant hub of student activity that simultaneously supports research consultations, workshops, tours, digital video editing, study space, team meetings, website development, exhibit design, online module creation, and zine making.

By better utilizing space for students, the Inquiry Labs increased seating capacity by 36 seats throughout the quarter and 68 seats during 10th and finals weeks. In 2013-2014, the Labs hosted 778 reservations for 1,895 instructional hours, over 1,000 research consultations, and over 1,100 writing consultations—compared with just 474 research consultations at our reference desk the previous year.