Creating a collaborative space for dialogue within the NIST Research Library

Abstract

The Information Services Office (ISO, also known as the NIST Research Library) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the U.S. Department of Commerce is currently undergoing changes that will transform the library in major ways. One of these changes is the conversion of an innovation hub that once offered hands-on experimentation with new technologies to one that offers collaboration spaces and showcases NIST’s “glimmer” technologies. The new space will facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue across the campus, bringing together NIST scientists from the wide-ranging fields of physics, chemistry, biology, information technology, and engineering. A future vision for the space includes collaborations between NIST researchers and the outside community, primarily U.S. industry and businesses that want to partner with NIST and make use of NIST technologies. The transfigured space is designed to encourage collaborative creativity using glimmer technology displays and exhibits, high-powered personal computers, fidget toys and other objects that foster imaginative thinking, comfortable seating, whiteboards, and a self-service café. ISO’s transformed innovation hub is part of its major transition from a facility of physical volumes to a bookless library of digital collections and collaborative spaces.