The LIT Room: Lighting Up the 21st Century Mind
Richland Library, S.C.
Innovation Synopsis
In partnership with Clemson University, the LIT Room reimagines the reading experience for the 21st Century Learner at Richland Library. While listening to the text, robotic elements — programmed by the design team of librarians, architects, educators and youth — transform the room with light, sound and movement, evoking a multisensory reading experience.
Challenge/Opportunity
How can the public library take more innovative approaches to addressing literacy through the lens of the 21st Century learner? How can we build partnerships with experts outside of the library field to investigate new approaches to augmenting both traditional literacy skills as well as digital learning skills? The LIT ROOM is a project that addresses these challenges by leveraging new technologies toward the transformation of a traditional reading experience into an adaptive, engaging and exploratory learning environment. By creating the “21st Century Read-aloud,” the LIT ROOM encourages youth to use the space itself for critically thinking about the book being read, thereby supporting the development of both traditional and digital literacy skills acquisition. This innovative concept won funding from the National Science Foundation.
Key Elements of Innovation
The LIT Room is a full-scale, interactive and functional prototype. Hosting and supporting this innovative research at Richland Library’s Main location has provided the opportunity for librarians, STEM experts, teachers and young learners to:
- Engage as designers in the creation of a technologically sophisticated, robotic environment that integrates traditional and digital
- Participate as researchers to determine the impact of the LIT Room on the learners; understanding, and
- Explore innovative programming opportunities for children, teens and adults with cutting-edge robotic technology driven by the learners’ creativity with peer and mentor interactions.
Achieved Outcomes
Richland Library’s involvement in the design, implementation and evaluation of the LIT Room is helping researchers at Clemson University to fill a gap in literacy research using technology-enhanced tools to augment the public library’s ability to advance literacy for the 21st Century learner. Data from sessions with two classrooms of 2nd graders is being analyzed to compare how children make connections, express creativity and derive meaning from the experience. Observations from interactions within the LIT Room suggest that librarians and children successfully engaged with the technologies, approached reading with enthusiasm in this setting and made important connections between the reading and environmental effects (sounds, lighting, robotically-assisted moving panels). New literacy and creative programming in LIT Room is happening, to the delight of staff and customers.