From her new office on level three of Olin library, associate dean Virginia Toliver can look out a window while at work for the first time in 21 years. New views and increased natural lighting are just some of the goals of the Olin library renovations scheduled to conclude Apr. 30, 2004.

Currently, lower floors A and B, along with upper floor two, are complete. According to Toliver, the project is on schedule with the original construction plans.

“It has always been a three-year project because we could not close the library,” said Toliver.

The library has remained open while construction closed one floor at a time. The present renovation efforts have focused on the first and third floors of the building. The third floor will closely resemble floor two and is expected to be complete by late November. Plans include study-rooms, wireless Internet access at study tables and comfortable seating surrounding the glass windows that look down into the space that will eventually hold the cyber caf‚.

The first floor is to be completed in December of this year. During winter break, the building entrance will be moved to the south side of the building.

Service desks, which were previously spread to different floors of the library, will be brought together on the first floor. These services include circulation, reserve, interlibrary loan and reference.

The final construction will be on the 24-hour cyber caf‚. Food will not be served 24-hours a day, however, and the caf‚ will most likely be card access after midnight. There is discussion that library hours may change once the caf‚ is available to students.

A large goal of the renovation is to make Olin more Internet-accessible. Along with increased coverage areas for wireless access, the Arc Library Technology Center is available to students on floor A. Sarah Bombich is manager of the Arc Center, which opened in March 2003.

“I think they have done a really good job of looking at what students’ needs are in this century as opposed to the fifties,” said Bombich. “The construction is a little inconvenient now but I know it will get better.”

Junior Ryun Miller was pleased by the Arc Center and compared the previous condition of Olin to the future renovated areas.

“The library used to be really bad and musty,” said Miller. “I think it will smell a lot better and architecturally it will look a lot better instead of feeling like a dungeon.”

Toliver also anticipates an improvement in the library atmosphere. She already feels the difference in her new office.

“I didn’t realize what a difference a window would make because I’ve been here for 21 years without one,” she said. “I think the students will notice the difference, too.”

The interior design was formulated to improve the ambiance of the building but keep true to the qualities that won the building awards when it first opened in 1962.

The rededication celebrating the official reopening of the building is scheduled for May 7, 2004.

“We’ve always had a top collection, our research collection has always been great,” said Toliver. “Now we are going to have a building that matches that greatness.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2003 at 12:00 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.