Environmental Design students and librarians create a smarter, sustainable materials library
A materials library is a browsing collection of physical samples, such as biocomposites, natural and engineered stone, textiles, and other design materials. These collections support teaching, research and creative work by providing tactile access to a wide range of materials, often tailored to the needs of specific disciplines or academic programs.
When Associate Teaching Professor in the Environmental Design Department (ENVD) Caitlin Charlet toured the newly renovated materials library in 2023, she was immediately excited about its potential: “As someone who specializes in biomaterials, I saw an opportunity to grow the collection into a campus-wide resource for sustainable design.”
That’s where Alex Watkins, Art & Architecture Librarian, jumped in.The ENVD materials collection needed thoughtful organization, cataloging, curation and expansion to serve the evolving needs of design students—an ideal opportunity for a librarian to contribute specialized expertise. With a grant from the University Libraries students were hired to lead the project, while Watkins provided ongoing support and consultation. “We’re building a tool that students can use to discover materials in ways that reflect how they actually approach design research,” said Watkins.
Before the project began, the materials collection was a mix of samples with minimal organization. With support from the Libraries and a research grant, Charlet spearheaded a project to change all that. She envisioned a space where students could explore cutting-edge, natural, sustainable and alternative materials relevant to architecture, product design and landscape architecture in an easy to use, searchable database of all the materials in the library.
What the Libraries did - Librarians as research partners
Librarians are the experts in the principles for curating a collection, organizing and making it discoverable. Watkins guided the students to:
- Explore how other academic libraries structure materials collections and databases.
- Select an open-source platform—CollectionBuilder with GitHub Pages—for long-term preservation and usability.
- Develop strategies for acquiring new materials, especially bio-based, low-carbon, and green design samples.
- Identify key metadata fields and controlled vocabularies to ensure consistent cataloging.
Outcomes and impact - Collection catalog and strategy
The collaboration has already led to:
- A searchable, student-curated database of sustainable materials.
- A framework for ongoing collection development and deaccessioning.
- Increased student ownership and engagement with the materials library.
Faculty perspective
“Working with Alex has been invaluable,” said Charlet. “He really guided us through the whole process and it’s been an honor to collaborate with him and the student team.”
Watkins emphasized the value of student leadership: “It’s been amazing to see how passionate students are about building a tool for their peers. They’re not just organizing a collection, they’re shaping a resource that will serve future designers.”
Why it matters
This project demonstrates how librarians can support digital scholarship beyond traditional publications. The final product—a searchable database—offers faculty a curated, discipline-relevant collection and provides students with a resource tailored to their interests and creative work.
Interested in learning more about collaborative research projects with librarians? Attend the Libraries Research Grant Showcase on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Norlin Library. Registration is appreciated but not required.