Library renovation gaining momentum
The University of Idaho Library is an academic staple on the Moscow campus and it’s in line for an aesthetic upgrade.
UI Library Dean Lynn Baird said the renovation of the library became a priority this year and will include changing the current front desk and office area into an open study space with access to natural light. Additionally, the renovation will include the construction of a coffee shop with possibilities of added instructional space. Baird said the renovation would tentatively begin in May 2015.
As the largest library in the state, the UI Library holds over a million books, subscribes to almost 10,000 periodicals and serves as an official government regional depository storing over 2 million government documents. The UI Library welcomes approximately 500,000 visitors per year, both students and public citizens.
Baird said the goal of the library facelift is to make the atmosphere of the library more welcoming and productive for visitors. Baird said a National Association of College and University Business Officers report revealed libraries are one of the most important facilities on college campuses.
“Out of all the different facilities on campus, the library is one of the important ones when you’re making a college decision,” she said. “Our goal as librarians is to make this a welcoming space.”
In order to accomplish that goal, Baird said the library tries to remove barriers to student learning whenever possible. In the past, this has included adding more technology, allowing food and beverages in the library and assigning varied quiet study areas.
Baird has worked with the UI Library since 1974. In that time, the library has undergone only one renovation in 1992, which re-carpeted the first floor and incorporated additional technology capabilities, Baird said.
When she assumed the role of dean, Baird said the library created a concept plan to improve the versatility of the library space. She said the current modification plans came from this concept.
Though Baird said her ideal plans would include connecting the second floor of the library to the Teaching Learning Center with a direct pathway, and adding an area for special collections, the first floor renovation is the most realistic improvement to make at this time.
Spaces for multimedia and collaborative learning, as well as a gallery to display student work were maintained from the original plan, she said. The renovation will include instruction rooms to teach library instruction programs, information literacy courses and tiered instruction programs that teach anything, including how to conduct intensive research.
“Primarily, at the end of the day, what we want you to do is be really savvy consumers of information,” Baird said. “We know that the content you get now is not the same content that you’re going to need in 40 years.”
Baird said this can be accomplished by teaching students process, and to have an adequate space for students to engage in processes.
Nick Wren, a senior studying biochemistry and serving as ASUI director of health and wellness, said he thinks the library is an important place for students to get to know and use appropriately. Wren said while the time to get to and from the library may deter him from utilizing it occasionally, it is a great place to study and he would like to see more students use it.
“How much time I spend in the library kind of varies on what my classes are this semester,” Wren said. “If I have a bunch of hard classes, I think I study more in the library just because it is a nice place to study and it’s quieter … I’m definitely way more productive than I am at home.”
While Wren said he doesn’t think the current setup of the library isn’t welcoming or satisfactory, the proposed changes would be an improvement. He said he has heard a lot of support for a coffee shop in the library and feels the other changes would benefit students overall.
As the project didn’t immediately attract funds, the renovation of the first floor is reliant on a working budget of $800,000 to be approved by the State Board of Education and a $200,000 Challenge Grant given by UI President Chuck Staben. Baird said the funding of the first floor renovation is secured, but she hopes to continue to raise funds for improvements. The SBOE will have to approve the design phase, and subsequently approve the construction phase.
Working with the Miller Hull Partnership, LLP on the pre-design phase, along with the UI facilities staff, Baird said the library has been inclusive in their planning. Initial meetings with the architect were held and sat in on by several people, including ASUI President Nate Fisher and student employees from the library, to give their insights and concerns as students. Chair of the Library Affairs Committee and UI Assistant Professor of History Rebecca Jager also sat in on the initial meetings and said she has seen much of support from both UI faculty and students.
“I very quickly discovered that a lot of faculty feel a special affinity towards the library,” Jager said. “We all depend on the library and the people in it to inspire our students and to help our students and to help them progress in their scholarly pursuits, as well as getting everything we need as faculty to produce our own scholarship.”
Jager said it became apparent the library renovation could be a push on campus that would involve faculty and students, giving everyone an opportunity to become engaged and contribute in a tangible way.
Jager said she has received a lot of positive feedback from faculty members, all of whom are engaged and want to help and make the project a reality.
Jager said she has not received any negative feedback and thinks most people recognize the library is an important part of the institution for recruiting, retaining and inspiring students. Since faculty members are required to produce scholarship, Jager said they are dependent on the library as well.
“There are a lot of worthy causes and worthy projects at the University of Idaho currently, but I think the library is that one place, you know, that one special place, that all of us have a stake in,” Jager said. “We have a stake in ensuring that is an inspiring and productive place for students to go and follow their academic leads.”
Cara Pantone can be reached at [email protected]