Library Renovations End, New Facilities Revealed

The academy library’s newly renovated ground floor was opened last Tuesday, Mar. 24, to the academy community after a five-month-long renovation.

Architects Tom Hoatling and Ian Ford worked with the Academy Librarian Gail Scanlon in rearranging the room and adding new furniture. Hoatling and Ford moved the periodicals to the west side of the building, created a new harkness classroom and installed new furniture, carpeting and a coffee machine, according to Scanlon. The light fixtures and woodwork were replaced as well.

The common’s opening ceremony was intended to introduce students, faculty and staff to the new space and to encourage them to utilize it. The student singing group, Exeteras, performed during the opening and MARGIN, a light installation by music instructors Jon Sakata and Jung Mi Lee, was set up in the library’s entrance.

“The commons really is the students’ place. We want to have events in here, we want you to meet with your friends here, we want you to sit down with a teacher and discuss test corrections or whatever you think is best.”

Last Tuesday, the commons was packed with various members of the Academy well before the event started, according to reference librarian Beth Rohloff, who thought the evening was a great success.

Senior Alex Breightol, who attended the opening, said she really enjoyed the event because the organizers made it clear what the new space would be for and why it was an exciting addition to the library.

“[Before it opened] there was a lot of fear that the commons would become another grill, and that would be unnecessary, so I think the event was nice because it showed ‘oh no, this is a different place, but it’s a nice place for you all to work and drink good coffee,’” Breighthol said.

Scanlon said that she wanted to make a more flexible place that students would feel comfortable using, where they could simultaneously have food and drinks, social events and a place to talk with friends that would still be an appropriate environment for studying.

The room has movable furniture and more distinctly carved out areas which makes having multiple purposes for the room easier. The separate classroom and movie screen, which is soon to be installed, will also help to ensure the room is more a flexible and active area, according to Scanlon, because they will allow for classes to meet and for students to hold events.

“The commons really is the students’ place. We want to have events in here, we want you to meet with your friends here, we want you to sit down with a teacher and discuss test corrections or whatever you think is best,” Scanlon said.

Scanlon said the commons was renovated out of a need to accommodate “how our current students and future students use libraries and resources.” The library has not been renovated in roughly 45 years, and Scanlon said it was time to reexamine how the library is used today.

Circulation desk coordinator Marilyn Bott said the new commons reflects the direction most libraries tend to be going lately in terms of flexibility, modernity and a wide range of usefulness.

“When the library was built back in the 70s, we had no idea how things would change with the internet and personal computers,” Bott said. “Now that we are more aware as a society of how rapidly things can change in unexpected ways there will be more emphasis on making whatever is done better able to change in unanticipated ways in the future.”

The room has also helped to attract more students to the library, according to Rohloff. The librarians have been keeping statistics on the number of students who used the ground floor before and after the renovations, and Rohloff has already seen more students utilizing the commons than before.

“Library regulars and students who normally do not step foot in the library are both spending more time in the commons, Rohloff said.

This new attractions to the ground floor may help students become more acquainted with the building before their 330s history classes, and the changes may make the library seem less intimidating, according to Bott.

“[The commons] will hopefully—I think it has already—make the library a little less imposing, because it really can be a pretty imposing building,” Bott said. “[The commons] is a way to get a sort of gentler intro to the building and to what we have here and make it less about 333s.”

Senior Scott Hermenau, who attended the opening, thought the new room was pleasant and a space students and faculty would visit more often. The renovations were a “positive change,” he said.

Breighthol agreed that the space was designed well. She thinks the room is convenient and beautiful. “I think they did a really good job portioning off different sections—it still feels open and there is still a general sense of ‘Okay, we’re here to study. I can actually get work done here,’” Breighthol said. “It’s very clean and brightly lit, so it looks like a good place to work.”

The cafe and coffee machine are also a big attraction to the room, according to Rohloff.

“I definitely think more students will use the Library Commons, and not just because of the shiny new coffee machine,” Rohloff said, “...but one of our staff members did witness [someone] hugging it.”

Contributions from Emmett Shell