Funding Recipient Spotlight: Designing Libraries XII Conferene

Posted by liaison on November 13th, 2025 Posted in: Funding

---

This is a guest post written by David Hansen, Manager of Administrative Operations at the University of Mexico’s Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC). David received NNLM Region 4 professional development funds to attend the Designing Libraries XII conference at the University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries. 

Why We Went

New Mexico is facing a stark reality: an aging health‑care workforce and a rising demand for care across urban and rural communities. As outlined in the UNM Health Science Center’s 10-year strategic plan, the next decade must confront both capacity and pipeline – expanding where and how we teach while modernizing the places where learning happens.

The UNM Hospital’s Critical Care Tower opening this month marks the first visible step in a multi‑stage response. Next comes a new School of Medicine building – with a timeline that targets coming online in roughly five years – followed by coordinated improvements that strengthen interprofessional education and clinical training across the Health Sciences campus. Recent investments are already moving the needle: the College of Nursing opened a new building that enabled significant growth in nursing programs, and the College of Pharmacy is engaged in a comprehensive renovation that positions them for near‑term expansion and success.

Against this backdrop, the HSC plans to double enrollment and scale clinical and academic programs over the next decade. The question for the Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center (HSLIC) was clear: How will the library scale without sacrificing the standards of excellence our users count on? To explore answers, we recently attended the Designing Libraries for the 21st Century conference at the University of Rochester. Our charge was to study how peer institutions are reinventing libraries as high‑connectivity hubs and to bring home approaches that fit the realities of health sciences education and care in New Mexico.

What We Discovered

Walking through Rochester’s library spaces felt like stepping into a series of working hypotheses about the future of libraries:

• iZone functioned as a collaboration pre‑incubator – part studio, part commons – where students and partners pressure‑tested ideas.
• Studio X translated emerging technologies into learning tools, lowering the threshold for faculty and students to explore XR (extended reality).
• VISTA data visualization wall transformed “hard‑to‑hold” data into shared inquiry, inviting people to stand together in front of something bigger than a laptop screen and think aloud.

It wasn’t the specific furniture or brands that impressed us; it was the design logic – spaces built to welcome different kinds of minds, bodies, and workflows, and a culture that treats iteration as a virtue.

What We Realized

On the flight home, we compared notes and kept landing on the same conclusion: HSLIC already holds many of the assets of a future‑forward library. We have quiet, wellbeing‑aligned options (nap pods, a lactation room, a wellness room) and treadmills with adjustable desks so learners can work while they walk. Several neurodivergent students have reported that the bi‑pedal stimulation helps them sustain focus and retain information. We offer varied study settings – individual and group rooms, carrels, pod chairs, and a reservable classroom – so patrons can choose sanctuary or collaboration as needed.

We also provide applied learning technologies that move beyond novelty. Our 3D printing service turns complex concepts into tactile learning: recently, a neuro‑PT faculty member had us print spinal cross‑sections, then asked students to lace the models to map nerve plexuses. The result was embodied understanding, not just a clever object. Our Data Visualization Wall is already enabling visual exploration and storytelling. We see strong potential across HSC – as examples, biochemistry pathway presentations in the College of Pharmacy and population modeling in the College of Population Health – along with countless yet‑to‑be‑named use cases as adoption grows.

Centering People: Human‑Centered Design at HSLIC

The key takeaway from Rochester, and in our reflection afterward, was Human‑Centered Design (HCD): starting with empathy, recognizing the desire paths that users are already creating, and then iterating toward solutions. In practice, this means we will:

• listen broadly to students, residents, faculty, clinicians, researchers, and community members;
• turn insights into How might we… questions;
• test in responsible, right‑sized ways; and
• measure both belonging and friction as we improve.

HCD resonates with HSLIC’s Justice, Equity, and Inclusion commitments: accessibility and cultural affirmation aren’t add‑ons; they are design constraints that make the whole system better.

The Changing Nature of Libraries – And Where HSLIC Fits

Libraries of the past were quiet repositories. Librarians were guides through stacks of information. Libraries of the future, especially in the health sciences, are systems of support: hubs and nodes where knowledge is actively surfaced, where novices find guided on‑ramps into credible sources, where clinicians and researchers can move quickly from question to insight.

At HSLIC, we’re shaping that system around three complementary modalities of use:

1. Sanctuary – quiet, sensory‑calm spaces that support sustained focus, reflection, and wellness.
2. Collaboration – reconfigurable rooms with large displays, reliable casting, rolling whiteboards, and power density sufficient for real work. (Power is foundational; without it, technology cannot be deployed equitably.)
3. Exploration – spaces that invite hands‑on engagement with emerging tools (XR, 3D printing, and data visualization) organized around safety, privacy, and instructional value.

From Empathy to Action: Our Guiding “How Might We…?” Statements

As we synthesize what we heard from learners and instructors across disciplines, HSLIC is using a set of How Might We… statements to focus design and investment decisions. A few examples:

• How might we create sensory‑calm writing and study sanctuaries for patrons who prefer low‑tech environments so that they can focus without overstimulation?
• How might we streamline on‑the‑spot group room access for deadline‑driven teams so that setup time shrinks and collaboration starts in minutes?
• How might we design reconfigurable, power‑rich collaboration zones for mixed‑ability groups so that everyone can contribute equitably?
• How might we enable bring‑your‑own‑device immersive collaboration for advanced tech users so that library spaces feel adaptive and future‑ready?
• How might we pilot privacy‑preserving XR and visualization practices for interdisciplinary teams so that innovation remains accessible and safe by default?

These aren’t slogans; they are working prompts that help us evaluate options, pick standards, and say yes to what matters.

Strengthening What Works

HSLIC’s services already meet a wide range of needs: Ask‑a‑Librarian, expert literature searches, resource sharing through Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery, orientations to key databases, and guidance for using our learning technologies. As HSC grows, we will expand what we do best:

• Build clear starter paths for novice researchers – topic landing pages and scaffolded search strategies that reduce time to a credible starting point.
• Offer rapid evidence support at the point of need, aligned with courses, clerkships, clinical rounds, and quality improvement projects.
• Grow data‑to‑viz consultations that help faculty, students, and teams turn datasets into accessible visuals for proposals, presentations, and publications.

People Power – Activating Our Structure

By November, all current vacancies will be filled across the Public Services, RECIS (Research & Education Clinical Information Services), Administration and RAD (Resources, Archives & Discovery) divisions. A fully staffed team enables us to:

• expand embedded instruction and consultations across colleges and programs;
• increase technology adoption support (e.g., orientations for the Data Visualization Wall and 3D printing tied to course objectives);
• deepen outreach to community partners, consistent with HSC’s service mission.

As HSC enrollments and programs scale, proposals for additional staffing will be data‑driven and brought through HSC leadership channels at the appropriate time. For now, our focus is on maximizing impact with the structure we have.

How We’re Helping

We are committing to measures that matter and respect privacy:

• Belonging & accessibility: a one‑item pulse – “I felt supported here today” – with an optional field for language/access needs.
• Friction: time from room entry to first successful screen share; device‑connect success rate; sensory comfort ratings in quiet zones.
• Equity: patterns of use across programs and times; fulfillment of accommodations; uptake of multilingual materials.
• Impact: instruction and consults linked to course outcomes, QI projects, grants, and publications.

Invitation to Co‑design With Us

If you teach, learn, research, or provide care at UNM, we invite you to help shape the next decade of HSLIC.

Tell us:

• What would make collaboration rooms effortless for your teams?
• Which datasets could come alive on the Data Visualization Wall – biochemistry pathways, population health models, quality metrics, clinical simulations?
• What sanctuary features would help you focus or recharge?
• Where do novice researchers get stuck, and how can we smooth the path?

HSLIC is ready to be at the center of the desire paths for all patrons – where people and knowledge meet. Calm enough for deep thinking. Powerful enough for collaboration. Open enough for innovation that improves health for all New Mexicans.