Bruce Harreld is into innovation. So it's no surprise the incoming University of Iowa president made the Main Library Learning Commons one of his first campus stops.

Harreld toured the 37,000-square-foot space with a group of students and John Culshaw, university librarian, who noted that the Learning Commons was the first major Main Library renovation in 40 years. The project changed the facility, but also is changing the way students learn, collaborate, and create.

Talking with students about the centerpiece TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) classroom, Harreld said its modular, small-group-focused design is perfectly suited to "flipped classroom" teaching, but also reflects the philosophy and environment of a startup, where teams configure themselves and their projects on the fly. One student pointed out that he and classmates completed a massive team-written research project in the very space, an effort that might not have worked anywhere else.

Culshaw previewed what's next for the facility, including a new studio built for streamlined multimedia production, prompting Harreld to observe that today's library professionals are tech experts, coaches, and creators as well as research experts.