Library plans for renovation meet opposition

By Mary Jester
Asst. Campus Editor

The architect will have to alter drawings for the Humanities, Social Science and Education Library renovations, due to a conflict between space constraints and the priorities of the library's academic plan.

The American Disabilities Act requires the aisles between bookshelves to be 36" wide. However, the aisles in HSSE are 33" wide. When the architect drew the shelves to make the aisles wider, 25 percent of shelving space was lost. Graduate students and faculty have expressed opposition to losing this shelving space.

The graduate students are opposed to any loss in shelving space because the materials would be put into storage. Although they would be able to access the materials by requesting a particular material, they would not be able to browse — a method the students find to be very valuable.

"We don’t want these books to go into storage, whether that storage is going to be on campus or off campus," said Ted Blanton, a graduate student. "You find stuff that you don't expect to find by browsing."

Emily Mobley, dean of libraries, said putting materials into storage is a solution that is used by many libraries. When HSSE opened, it was a closed library, which means it was storage only. Other libraries, such as the Library of Congress and the British Library, are closed libraries.

Mobley said the decision has to be made based on the priorities of the library, which are hard to define because all of the library's services are needed.

Space is limited; no more space can be added to the libraries. Some areas will have to be sacrificed to incorporate new building standards such as the ones required by the American Disabilities Act.

Space for library users, faculty offices, computers, printers, copiers and printed materials are the main areas of the library. Some part of these areas will have to be reduced or redesigned to compensate for this loss in space. Decisions have not yet been made on how this problem will be solved.

"We're solving the problem now by communicating. I met with graduate students. I met with faculty," said Mobley.

Blanton said, "We'd like to have some way for those books to remain accessible and not in storage. Whether or not we get jobs is based on the quality of our research. It affects our future as professionals."

Blanton said communication about the change in the libraries is important to him. "We're the people who are using the library; we'd like to be involved in what's going to happen."

Mobley said, "What we've found out is that losing this much shelving is not acceptable," said Mobley. However, shelving could still be reduced but perhaps not as much as the architect showed.

Blanton said, "We know that a lot of money is being spent moving computers in; we're not against that. But if they're going to spend $5.5 million, the books should remain. They shouldn't spend so much money on the library and take away our books.

"The library planning committee decided that the same amount of square feet should remain in the library after renovations. That indicated to us at least a commitment to keep all the books there," he said.

Other problems that have been addressed in these plans include noise from copiers and printers, distractions due to open workspace and various storage areas of microfiche. Copier and printer noise will be reduced on the first floor by gathering the copiers and printers into one room. Distractions will be reduced for computer users by repositioning the computers so they are not side by side, to increase privacy. Microfiche will be collected into one spot on the second floor. More group study rooms and faculty offices are planned for the second and third floors.

Eight new computers will be added with digital text capabilities. The room will be referred to as the Center for Scholarly Communication. Students will be able to use these computers to write what Mobley describes as a paper of the future. Students will be able to incorporate video or music clips into their papers, which will be submitted to teachers in an electronic format. Mobley said other universities have already incorporated these abilities into their resources.

Restrooms, which will be accessible to Loeb Playhouse visitors, will be installed by the new entrance in the west lobby of Stewart Center. The library's entrance was originally in the west lobby, under the mural, but was moved. The art gallery is now in that space, but it will be switched with the current entrance. The change will allow the art gallery to be protected from light and will give the library a more open, linear space as opposed to having the entrance off to the side.

Mobley said she appreciates the symbolism of how the new entrance will face the primary users of HSSE, the liberal arts students and faculty. The main buildings that the new entrance will face are University Hall, the Recitation Building and the Liberal Arts and Education Building.

Plans for the renovations began in 1996 and 1997. Architect plans were made in March and construction is planned to begin in the summer of 2002.

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