---
title: Anything but Common
date: 2023-03-31T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/anything-but-common"
section: Articles
---
# Anything but Common

*March 31, 2023* — by [Maggie Haslam](/author/maggie-haslam)


> Information, Tech and Community Unite in College’s New Hornbake Space

*Commons Entry Area 1920x1080 1 — INFO Commons, a dynamic new student space planned for Hornbake, will offer flexible spaces, labs, and other amenities dedicated to exploring information technology.*

Just below Hornbake Library’s historic and hushed stacks, the next chapter for University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies is underway: an engaging new space for students to hatch big ideas, tinker with the Internet of Things, devise new tech for smarter cities or explore how humans make choices through the pixelated world of Mario Bros.

INFO Commons, which broke ground this month, will be the college’s first bricks-and-mortar entry into the hands-on, creative world of information technology. The high-tech playground with places to study, collaborate or chill on the ground floor of Hornbake Library will offer a long-awaited community home for the college, with a welcome mat for students across UMD.

“It’s about having a place in between home and school where students don’t have prescribed roles,” said Katherine Izsak, associate dean for academic affairs. “They get their hands dirty and make those connections to what they’re learning in class. It’s dynamic and innovative, yes, but it’s also fun.”


*two students work on laptops in study space — Tianming Zhou '23 , center, and Abhijith Anugu M.I.M. '23 work through a basic network connection in one of the iSchool labs. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)*



**Sidebar note:**

What’s in store for INFO Commons? [Take a virtual tour](https://ischool.umd.edu/give/info-commons-campaign/) and learn more about the labs, student spaces and opportunities coming to the Hornbake Library space in 2024.





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)


**Units:** [College of Information](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-information-studies)