I.T.'s not your parents' library: no box required

Customer Service in college and university academic support is not as much about meeting immediate microscopic needs as providing an environment where people can flourish both intellectually and technologically - not merely thinking outside the box, but eliminating it altogether. Synergy between library and information technology services can result in a personal learning environment in which scholars feel completely at home while having full and convenient access to the resources they need to pursue their work - those resources including, but not limited to, assistance with immediate problems that bridge both spheres. This requires the presence of both library and information technology cultures, in a seamless fashion and in an environment designed to be in harmony with the physical, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of the scholar. This is the philosophy and reality of the new Christopher Center at Valparaiso University; students, faculty, staff, and the larger community feel at home and at ease in this new environment, as do Library and IT staffs, which remain administratively separate but work side by side. We elaborate on our shared vision and describe how we brought it to fruition.