Library staff will move 400,000 books--twice
BY JAMES RETTIG
University Librarian
During the summers of 2001, 2002 and 2003, the University made a substantial and very successful investment to renovate the public areas on Boatwright Memorial Library's first and second floors. With comfortable seating, an increased number of public computers, large study tables, new carpet, new paint, and a changing display of students' and faculty art, Boatwright became the place to be.
In the 2000-01 academic year, 270,983 people entered Boatwright. In the 2004-05 academic year, 485,504 entered. The very popular coffee shop had no direct effect on this increase; it is outside the electronic gate counter.
In summer 2006, the University again will invest in Boatwright-this time to renovate the B1 and B2 levels. Those lower levels house the circulating book collection, the science journals and reference books. Students have described the environment as "creepy" at night. We intend to change that!
We need to accommodate these two important purposes without adding any space through new construction. The only way to create additional usable space within the fixed amount of existing space is to reduce the footprint of the book stacks that house the collections. We will do this through a massive deployment of compact mobile shelving. In a compact shelving installation, the stacks ride on movable carriages, and a number of the stacks share a single aisle. Users open that aisle where they need it by rolling the stacks along rails.
In addition to the new compact shelving, a new ceiling and new lighting will dispel the creepiness. New carpet, paint and furniture complete the plan. Whereas today, book stacks stand close to the sources of natural light on B1, by fall that light will shine in on new study areas. Students have expressed a need for additional quiet individual study space and additional group project/study space. Through furniture selection and other design elements, we will accommodate both of those needs.
This very complex project is scheduled to begin the day after final exams and conclude before fall semester classes begin. We will need to move more than 400,000 books from their current locations to temporary locations and then back into new locations in the compact shelving. We have developed a phasing plan that will make nearly all of the collection available throughout the project. The exceptions will be the general reference and government documents collections. Faculty who will need items from these collections should discuss their needs with their liaison librarian.
We will have to coordinate multiple tasks performed by multiple contractors. They include lighting technicians, carpet layers, crews disassembling the existing shelving, and crews installing and assembling the new compact shelving. We will work on the B1 level first, then the B2 level. The project will conclude with the renovation of study space on the B1 level. It will be a busy summer!
The library is developing a Web site that will describe the project in detail and provide frequent updates. Watch SpiderBytes for an announcement of its debut.
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