The Knowledge Market, a one-stop shop where students can receive help on research, writing and speech skills, is holding a trial run preview from March 17-28, Sunday through Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in the Zumberge Library on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus.

The actual Knowledge Market will be located in the new Mary Idema Pew Library once it opens this spring.

Patrick Johnson, interim director for the Frederik Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors, said there are three primary reasons why the university is doing this preview.

“First, we want to offer all three services together to find out the best way to help students,” Johnson said. “We want to promote this new service before the library opens, and we want consultants from each program to get experience working alongside the other staffs.”

Jenna Bolle, library research consultant, said no college library has ever done a Knowledge Market before and everyone involved in this—speech consultants, writing consultants and research consultants—is there to help students succeed in their education.

“The library research consultants are often the first step for students to go to before preparing their papers or speeches in the Knowledge Market,” Bolle said. “We help students with finding sources and offer a wide variety of different sites and places for students to search. That extra peer-to-peer collaboration really makes a difference.”

Another representative at the Knowledge Market preview was Sarah Duplanty, a speech consultant. Duplanty said the speech consultants help students taking the COM 209 introductory speech course with presentations, as well as helping all students write their speeches.

“How it works is that the student will practice their speech in front of the consultant by standing up, and the consultants will then offer feedback, identifying both the strengths and the weaknesses of the speech,” Duplanty said.

Kathleen Ross, a writing center consultant at the preview, said the Knowledge Market is a great resource for students once the new library opens, compiling all three services into one cohesive unit.

“The writing consultants at the Knowledge Market will help students organize their content and ideas, how to better improve their writing skills, as well as fixing grammatical errors,” Ross said.

Johnson said surveys are conducted after students preview the Knowledge Market.

“We are excited to hear from students who participate in our preview and we want to know how best to assist them,” Johnson said. “The questions range from the type of work the student is doing, to the help they received, and what they like and/or don’t like about how the service works. The feedback we receive will help each program refine their service as we prepare to move into the new library.”

The concept of the Knowledge Market was the brainchild of Lee Van Orsdel, who is dean of University Libraries, Johnson said.

“She wanted the new library to reflect how students use it, which means there is more open work space, resources, technology and student services,” Johnson said. “The Knowledge Market is just one aspect of the new library, but it serves as a good example of the exciting approach being taken.”

[email protected]