Research & Scholarly Services Second Floor Redesign

George Aulisio

The way students use the library and the services that students need have changed since the library was built in 1992.

Throughout history, libraries have primarily been known as anchors to the past, archiving and storing materials for scholars, but libraries have also been centers for innovation, keeping up with modern trends and meeting the needs of their communities as society evolves. Currently, the library’s second floor has its sights on the future. The way students use the library and the services that students need have changed since the library was built in 1992. After consulting with student focus groups, the library faculty met with architects Hemmler + Camayd to develop a total renovation plan for the second floor of the library designed with today’s student in mind. The library’s second floor has the largest square footage in the library, and library usage statistics show that a third of the students in the building tend to be on the second floor. Furthermore, the second floor is utilized throughout the day, being a 24-hour-accessible floor.

The renovation plan is ambitious, with eight new group study rooms, new furniture and LED lighting, a dedicated quiet study area, and improved faculty offices and teaching and learn- ing spaces. As the library explores creative ways of raising funds needed to complete the total renova- tion, we are moving forward with parts of the ren- ovation. Thanks to a generous $100,000 gift from the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library committed over two years, we are converting the old Interlibrary Loan office into a collaborative teaching space. The new classroom will improve the librarians’ abilities to schedule group and small class information literacy instruction sessions with students. The classroom will be flexible to allow for lectures, workshops and discussions. The library expects the classroom to be ready during the Spring 2020 semester. The remainder of the gift from the Friends will go toward purchasing new furniture and possibly renovating the area at the top of the grand staircase.

The library is also using funds from the library’s 20th anniversary fund to replace the 25-yearold drapes on the courtyard terrace with more contemporary shades. The new shades will allow the view of the terrace to remain unobstructed while simultaneously reducing direct sunlight so that student laptop screens will remain visible on sunny days.

During Summer 2020, we hope to make more changes and upgrades to the second floor. Thanks to University support, the library is also adding a microfilm scanner and reader to replace an old machine that has been breaking down regularly. We hope to be able to improve the faculty office spaces on the second floor of the library. By splitting two sets of shared offices, the four faculty librarians in those offices will be better able to meet with students and faculty one-on-one and to work collaboratively on student research and scholarly projects. As we raise funds over time, we will continue to make small improvements focused on meeting the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s students and faculty.