The Library Is Open: 4 Lessons from Berea on Student-Centered Learning

[LaShawnSpringer]

What happens when you build a library that’s more than just a place to study?

At Berea College, a tuition-free, work college nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Amanda Peach and her colleagues at Hutchins Library have created something powerful. The library has become a third space, a mentorship hub, and a launchpad for student research and agency. After our conversation on The What & Who of EDU, I haven’t stopped thinking about what every educator (and every institution) can learn from their approach.

Here are four takeaways that stuck with me, and that I hope will stick with you too.

1. The Invitation Matters

Sometimes the most transformative thing an educator can do is extend the invitation. 

Amanda doesn't wait for students to come to her, she reaches out. She actively invites them to co-author research papers, present at conferences, and engage in work that’s typically reserved for graduate students. Every semester, someone says yes.

Why does that matter? Because for many students, especially first-gen or underrepresented students, asking to do research, or even knowing it’s an option, can feel out of reach. Amanda takes the wondering out of it by extending the invitation. In the process, students build their portfolios as well as something even deeper: a sense of scholarly identity.

2. Third Spaces Build Belonging

Libraries are not just academic commons, they’re cultural ones too. 

Hutchins Library leans into this by offering board games, pots and pans, podcast equipment, and ample gathering places for students to just pause and breathe.  Third spaces like these matter, especially on campuses where community is sometimes hard to find or harder to keep. In an era where such spaces are disappearing, libraries can step in and  give students agency to create and nurture them.

3. Information Literacy Is Everyone’s Job

The information landscape isn’t just complex, it’s also constantly shifting. Amanda and her team realized that a legacy framework from the early 2000s wasn’t enough to equip today’s students to navigate deepfakes, echo chambers, and algorithmic bias. So they pivoted. 

They replaced outdated interventions with one-on-one research consultations, partnered with faculty to embed information literacy into assignments, and rethought what students need—not just to write a paper, but to become critical, ethical consumers and creators of information.

This work isn’t extra. It’s fundamental and foundational.

4. Access Is a Design Choice

Yes, Berea’s endowment helps make their tuition-free model possible, but the intent behind it is what matters most. Berea shows us that higher education can be reimagined with access and agency at the center. We may not all work at a work college, but we can all ask: “What can I do, in my role, to remove barriers and open doors?”

Whether it’s redesigning an assignment, rethinking who we co-create with, or making a trip to the library a part of our class plans, we all have levers we can pull.

There’s so much more to our conversation and you should tune in to hear all of it. 

Listen to the full episode of "The Heartbeat of Berea: How Hutchins Library Builds Community and Critical Thinkers" on The What & Who of EDU featuring Amanda Peach, available wherever you get your podcasts. And if it sparks something, leave us a voicemail at 📞 512-765-4688. We’d love to feature your voice on a future episode.