The University Libraries support our faculty, staff and students’ teaching, scholarship and research by building rich and diverse collections of print and online resources. During the renovation, we hope to continue making collections accessible in a timely manner, mitigating the impact of the project.
During the renovation, the 3rd floor collection will need to be relocated for the duration of the construction phases. The original plan was to relocate the collection to a new Collection Management Facility off-campus. The relocation would have precluded faculty and students from browsing the material, but it would, nevertheless, have allowed readers to request material and have it delivered within 24 hours. However, based on feedback from faculty, students, and staff we have decided to relocate the third floor collection to the basement of the Science Library This is in recognition of the importance of the collection particularly to faculty and students in the humanities and social sciences. It is fully supported by the Libraries and University Administration.
Discussions are underway concerning our post-renovation collections. Based on feedback about the preliminary floor plan for the renovated space, we significantly increased the space allocated for the 3rd floor collection from the initial post-renovation allocation. The current plan for the redesign includes installing new compact shelving, but still envisions a reduction of the overall collection capacity by approximately 30 percent. The plan also includes distributing the overall impact of the material relocation across all disciplines in Bartle Library by relocating a smaller portion of the 4th floor collection to the Collection Management Facility in order to move a portion of the 3rd floor collection to the 4th floor.
This spring, we will work directly with academic departments to determine the criteria for the optimal on-site curated collections in Bartle Library.
We will be sharing an updated floor plan next week. We welcome and encourage feedback from faculty and students to assist with the decision process. We will host open forums in the spring to provide an opportunity to share your thoughts, concerns and ideas. You can also provide feedback by filling out our Library Renovation Feedback. We will continue to reach out to our patrons throughout the renovation process.
What is happening to the collections during and post Bartle Library 3rd floor renovation?
