Adrian Northrup

After almost four months of construction, visitors to McIntyre Library will see changes that university officials said they hope will make the library more user-friendly.

“The building morphs based on student, faculty and staff needs,” said Chris Cox, the library’s assistant director. “We have been adding more and more computers, which take up space; study areas have also been in high demand.”

The renovation projects, which were funded by the state, have included a new Information Literacy Lab located behind the reference section on the library’s main floor. The lab contains 30 computer workstations that are available to students when not reserved for group use, Cox said.

One of the most significant renovations will be the relocation of the Special Collections and Archives to the fifth floor.

This collection houses such resources as back issues of university publications, census data for six surrounding counties, voting records, genealogical data, rare books and an original letter from Mark Twain.

To make room for the new Special Collections and Archives, Cox said workers will remove faculty study rooms and shelving units.
“We didn’t lose any space that was in high demand,” he said.

In addition, color-coded carpet will mark off portions of each floor, making it easier to navigate the library, Cox said.

Shelving units on both fourth and fifth floors have also been re-arranged to flow in one direction to solve both space issues and confusion with locating resources.

New reading and microfilm rooms have been installed on the fifth floor. A lounge area will also replace fifth floor’s quiet study area.

“We’re debating whether we’ll keep fourth floor as the quiet floor,” Cox said, noting that he plans to ask students for more input on the issue.

“We’re hoping students will use (the fifth-floor lounge), whether or not they’re quiet.”

There are also two long, blank walls on the far end of both the fourth and fifth floors where Cox would like to feature student, staff or community artwork and photography.

On the second floor, group study rooms in the Old Library will no longer be accessible through the breezeway between the old and new libraries because the exit will be blocked off. The classrooms are accessible by the stairwell next to the Help Desk and can be reserved through the library’s reference desk.

New lounge furniture has also been added on the new library’s side of the breezeway.

Apart from minor tweaking, Cox said he expects all renovations to be complete within a week, with the exception of the Special Collections and Archives, which will be open by the end of October.

Most students agreed that, although construction has been an inconvenience, it has not significantly interfered with studying.

“They’re ripping a lot of stuff up. I just go to where they’re not doing stuff; I just pick a floor,” junior Kurt Schroeder said. “It looked kinda retro around here, so it’s nice to get it up to date.”

Senior Rachel Kuenzel said she used to study on the fourth floor but moved because she said it had become too noisy and disruptive.

“My hope is to be able to move back,”
Kuenzel said. “I think there was less commotion there, since people are always going through the magazine (racks) here.”

Kuenzel said she is looking forward to the new group study rooms, especially in the end of the semester when more group projects are assigned and it’s difficult to find places to work.

However, not all students felt that the construction was necessary.

“I don’t know that research was that hard to find or that it needs to be changed,” senior Dan Kopp said. “It won’t be too beneficial to me.”