Currently located on the first floor of Eads Hall, Washington University’s Writing Center will be moved to the northwest corner of Olin Library after this year’s Commencement.

The move is intended to give the Writing Center more space and to allow the Writing Center and the library to establish a partnership, Sarah Laaker, manager of library user space planning, said.

The space previously held the library’s reference books and is currently used for general seating.

“It was a natural coming-together. We have been making incremental changes to Level 1…As a natural outcropping of that, we have space here that we can use to partner with the Writing Center,” Laaker said. “Both the Writing Center and the library are working in support of the teaching and learning mission of the college, so it’s a very natural fit.”

According to Writing Center Director Robert Patterson, there are 3,000-4,000 appointments at the center per year, and there is currently not enough space to accommodate the demand.

“We have needed a newer, larger location for quite some time. This is an opportunity for that, but it’s so much more,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to consider how we can give students an even better experience of writing, speaking and research help all in the same place.”

Patterson said that he expects to see an increase in the number of walk-in appointments as a result of the move and that he hopes to refer students working with the Writing Center to the library’s resources as needed and vice versa.

“I think the first thing that we need to work on is, how can we pull a research librarian into that conversation [of working on drafts],” Patterson said. “Whether that’s at the point when someone calls in and they’re making an appointment and they say, ‘I’m working on a research paper,’ we can say, ‘Would you like a research librarian present during the conversation?’ Or maybe it’s during the conversation that it becomes apparent we could really use a research librarian: ‘Why don’t we walk down the hall and grab one?’ And it’d be nice for that to happen the other way around.”

Students were largely unaware of the move but did not appear opposed to it.

“It’d be easier to access,” sophomore Jessica Wolff said. “There’d be more people who’d be able to use it.”

Laaker believes the move will provide students a good opportunity to gain access to many services in one location.

“I think it’s really nice that we can have help with research and help with writing in the same place, under the same roof, so we’re very excited about this,” she said.

Laaker and Patterson stated that they did not anticipate major difficulties with the move itself, especially because it would take place after the end of the school year.

“[The move] is taking place after commencement; it shouldn’t be very disruptive to students who are needing help,” Laaker said.