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It's Over! You Can Come Back Now
Paul Kobulnicky, Director, University Libraries
Over the past several years, just about everything that could happen to drive faculty and students away from the Homer Babbidge Library did happen. Entire floors were gutted and closed for months, even years. The 24 hour study room vanished. Finding the entrance became a challenge. The sound of the jackhammer was heard throughout the land and monster contraptions literally bit and tore sections of structure from the building, while students, only yards away, tried to study. Dust as thick as London fog and the odors of pitch and tar filled the air despite every attempt to filter them out. It's been ugly, but it's over. Now we want you to come back to see what all the noise and confusion has wrought.
The improvements we said we were going to make have been made. Babbidge is now a great place to study. Levels 2, 3, and 4 have attractive, tucked away window alcoves with good natural light. Group Study Rooms and Research Studies have been refurbished; those on Level 4 have telecommunications ports. New carpeting, fresh paint and a thorough cleaning have made these floors look as good as new. Level B has been redesigned to create quiet study areas. The 24-Hour Study Room has been restored, with a new cafe, "Bookworms," a new solarium, e-mail terminals, a video lounge and a quiet study room. For those who enjoy the morning light, a spectacular, glass enclosed reading room has been created on the east side of the Plaza Level. Other new amenities on the Plaza include a New Book Browsing Area, an exhibition gallery, and the Class of 1947 Meeting Room. In October, as the pedestrian mall moves toward completion, we will open the new north pavilion, providing users with a long-awaited street level entrance.
Babbidge is now easier to use. The Circulation and Reserve desks are available at the entrance; many collections have been relocated, each move calculated to bring similar resources together. Federal and state documents, both print and microfilm, are located on Level B. The Dewey Decimal books have been moved from compact shelving on Level A to conventional shelving on Level B to facilitate browsing. Journals from 1940 on, bound and unbound, as well as all journals on microfilm are now together on Level 3.
Electronic resources are more accessible than ever before. Level 1 has been totally redesigned to highlight those services. The microcomputer lab has been relocated to this floor and fitted with generous workstations in a beautiful setting. The library's Super Homers and other dedicated information workstations have been reorganized into information "cafes" that facilitate group work and are aesthetically pleasing. A new information technology service desk provides printing, scanning, and user support services. The Faculty Resource Laboratory has a new home on Level 1, and electronic classrooms will facilitate small-class use of technology. The Reference and Information desks have been joined to enhance our historically strong reference services through technology. On upper floors, we are extending network access for those who use laptop computers.
It's over. The noise and dirt and fumes are gone. The restored Babbidge Library is welcoming, comfortable and functional. We hope you'll come back-again and again-to use a library that has once more become a center of university excellence.
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