JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
The Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Library converted its computer lab into a community room, allowing library staff to host in-house programs there and the JBSA-Randolph community to reserve it for multifunctional use.
"Our customers will be able to reserve the space for gatherings, meetings, training sessions and other activities," Rudy Rodela, 902nd Force Support Squadron supervising librarian, said. "We are also providing the space to the base Education Center to increase their available classroom capacity."
To make space for the room, computers were moved to the previous periodical area and periodicals were relocated near the study tables. The study carrels were also rearranged as part of the new computer lab, allowing the library to gain two additional carrels.
The community room was on the library's wish list for more than a year and the project was completed for two primary reasons, Gail Trevino, 902nd FSS programming librarian, said.
"First, the Department of Defense Library Standards call for such space in order to achieve the 'premier' level standard," she said. "We allocated space in the study area for this purpose. However, our programs have become more popular and we've just outgrown the study area.
"Second, this community room helps the JBSA-Randolph Library better fulfill a traditional function of libraries as a forum."
As institutions, libraries have "never really been just about books," Rodela said.
"We were among the first businesses to make our inventory available online when we migrated the old card catalogs to the Internet," he added. "Libraries pioneered self-checkout technologies that are commonplace today."
More importantly, libraries "are a repository of ideas and a gateway to a world of information," Rodela said.
By incorporating a community room as an additional academic or business resource for patrons, the JBSA-Randolph Library is becoming more dynamic by "adopting and adapting innovative services and technologies," Trevino said.
The room holds 24 people and a table can be provided for light snacks and covered beverages for attendees.
To book the community room for events, call the library, Bldg. 598, at 652-2617/5578.