Award-Winning: The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, CA and Ratcliff, Emeryville, CA

Oh, no! You won't be getting a printed SCUP–45 Preliminary Program in the mail this year. Instead, SCUP is going green and regularly updating this digital version (PDF), which you can download at any time.

Check it out! You don't want to miss higher education's premier planning conference, and your one chance this year to assemble with nearly 1,500 of your peers and colleagues: July 10–14, Minneapolis.

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SCUP Link

In 2009, the Bancroft Library was awarded a SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for Restoration or Preservation Honor Award. You can read the project description here.

The library was suffering from many problems: inadequate accessibility; tenuous storage conditions for priceless materials; poor seismic ratings; inadequate HVAC system; aging fire safety systems; poor protection from theft; inadequate instructional space; and an uninviting reading room.

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This project offers a global perspective on issues of preservation and access for academic and rare books libraries. Assessing the value of the collections to make the case for their preservation resulted in programming choices that safely promote the collections rather than sequester them for the sake of preservation. This was a key strategy in garnering private donations.

The jury said, “spectacular. . . before and after photos make you want to go there . . . turned it into a glorious place that is wonderful . . . excellent, given the importance of this to the university . . .”

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA - "Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats"
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA - "Smart Planning in an Era of Uncertainty"
• April 7, Houston, TX - "Sustaining Higher Education in an Age of Challenge"

OSU's Main Library Re-Opens After Three Years and $109M

This nice article includes a photo tour/slide show. Ohio State University's main library has undergone more nips, tucks and enhancements than an aging beauty queen trying to hang on to her youth.

But as sometimes happens, some work done in the past to serve a growing student body compromised the magnificence of the original building. . . . 'People will actually see and feel the building, and the furnishings get more contemporary as they walk west,' said Wesley L. Boomgaarden, preservation officer of Ohio State University Libraries. 

See more here:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/08/03/OSU_library.ART_ART_08-03-09_A1_5NEL3IU.html

What to Do While Your Building or Renovation Project Is On Hold

Many campuses will be postponing or curtailing new building projects and renovations due to the current economic climate, but the pressing need for newly configured, technology-enabled spaces has not gone away. This session will describe a number of low or no-cost strategies for moving institutions toward their overall goals for new learning spaces, particularly in libraries and computing centers, while waiting for the actual construction or renovation. In the process, these strategies may help campuses clarify what they hope the new spaces will accomplish, assist units in being able to implement new, user-driven services as soon as the new spaces are occupied, and forge new campus partnerships.

Read on:
http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=447&bhcp=1

P.S. :
Don't miss out on conversations with colleagues and peers at SCUP-44 in Portland. It's coming up fast!

http://www.scup.org/page/annualconf/44

29 Reports About the Future of Academic Libraries

Thanks to SCUP executive director Jolene L. Knapp, who spotted this excellent blog post with links to hours of reading.

ACRL/LAMA Guide For Planning Higher Education Library Spaces

This guide - Guide For Planning Higher Education Library Spaces - from the Association of College & Research Libraries and the Library Administration and Management Association compiles a number of "guidelines" and links to specific resources as well as to sets of related resources. It is a must-bookmark resource for architects and designers in higher education. "In response to frequent inquiries for information about planning academic library buildings, [we] provide a basic framework for architects, planners, and librarians embarking on planning and design of libraries for higher education."

Wikipedia and the Meaning of Truth

Maybe you use Wikipedia, maybe you sneer at it, maybe you contribute to it. No matter, it's an important part of academic life in 2008 and if you read this article, subtitled "Why the online encyclopedia's epistemology should worry those who care about traditional notions of accuracy," you will certainly know more about how Wikipedia content gets to where it is than almost anyone else you know:

Why should we care? Because Wikipedia's articles are the first- or second-ranked results for most Internet searches. Type "iron" into Google, and Wikipedia's article on the element is the top-ranked result; likewise, its article on the Iron Cross is first when the search words are "iron cross." Google's search algorithms rank a story in part by how many times it has been linked to; people are linking to Wikipedia articles a lot.

This means that the content of these articles really matters.

Library Case Studies from 'Learning Spaces'

Because we have a great webcast coming up soon about libraries (See The Engaged Library
Strategies for Building Vibrant Learning Communities, Friday, September 12.) we thought we'd bring you - courtesy of the bibliographies at the National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities (NCEF) - a nice set of links to some comprehensive case studies and other related information that are originally from Learning Spaces by Diana Oblinger:

• Center for Integrated Learning and Information Technology, Michigan Technological University (PDF). Profiles this linked library addition and computer science hall that together provide an integrated learning environment, group study rooms, wireless networking, high-tech instructional spaces, and flexible labs. The chapter also describes how these spaces are used, what makes them successful, how technology is used, design principles, and what is unique about the project.

• Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia (PDF). Profiles this blend of new and refurbished space that serves at a library addition for the University. The building houses collection, meeting, and social spaces, including a lecture hall, classrooms, seminar rooms, cafe. These spaces host programs for the faculty, staff, and general public. The chapter describes the spaces and how they are used, what makes them successful, how technology is used, design principles, and what is unique about them.

• Perkins Library, Duke University (PDF). Profiles the expansion and conversion of this outdated, but ideally located library. The concept of the building's transformation from a "gatekeeper" to a "gateway" function that now serves as an "information commons" for the institution. The chapter also describes what makes the project successful, how technology is used, design principles, what is unique about the project, and includes one reference.

• Peter H. Armacost Library, Eckerd College (PDF). Profiles this new library that features 72 carrels wired with power and data connections, eight of which have multimedia stations. Several open lounges and a screened patio serve as casual settings for individual or group study, a 28-seat meeting room permits users to connect with remote sites worldwide, and a 30-person multimedia instruction lab provides multimedia training to augment instruction, research, and writing. The chapter also describes what makes the project successful, how technology is used, design principles, what is unique about the project, and includes one reference.

But . . . Where Are the Books?

Subtitled "As academic libraries evolve beyond information storage, institutions turn to space-saving automated retrieval systems" and written by Melissa Ezarik, this University Business report addresses the current evolutionary path of college libraries. It includes case studies from Santa Clara University (CA) and the University of Louisville (KY).

The evolution of libraries to meet a range of needs leaves librarians in a quandary. If space must go toward so many things besides books, where is the ever-expanding print collection supposed to fit?

“A knee-jerk reaction of putting everything on single shelves seems indefensible,” says Ron Danielson, vice provost for information services at Santa Clara University (Calif.). No one has the space for that.

“Shelving no longer drives planning,” explained consultant Scott Bennett, principal of Urbana, Ill.,-based Library Space Planning, during a session at a SCUP regional conference held at Yale in March. Bennett is also seeing libraries become less transactional and more instructional.

Connecting at the Library

Maybe it doesn't so much, any more, mean connecting with printed books, but the library is still a key learning space. This article from Business Officer is thoughtfully organized into a number of useful categories—The Changing Landscape, Library as Place, Student Usage Patterns, Indicators of Effectiveness, Organizing the Library, Predicting and Managing Collection Growth, What It All Means—each of which could, in itself, be a larger essay: "What is the future of the book, given ubiquitous electronic resources? Why maintain a library when students appear to do all their research from their laptops? And, for business officers and facilities planners, what is the relationship between library facility features and increased student interest that can influence recruitment and retention? Here we explore the many questions that arise regarding academic libraries in an age of electronic media; illustrate those qualities and attributes students perceive as most valuable in a collegiate library building; and describe the planning process, final design, and some before-and-after analysis for The College of New Jersey’s successful new library building."

A Steady Vision for Libraries In a Tumultuous Time

This is an interview with James G. Neal, who is VP for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University, where he is responsible for university academic computing as well as for a system of twenty-five libraries: We also need to think about how we push more of our services out into a 24x7, self service type of environment. We can no longer assume that people will physically come to the library to get information, to get service, or to get assistance from our librarians. As Web 2.0 develops, we need to think about 'Library 2.0' in terms of re-visioning what we are and how we interface with our user community, and we need to build that social relationship with our users in ways that the old tools didn't allow us to do.

Thompson Library Renovation Project at Ohio State University

Found for us by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF), is Ohio State University's Thompson Library Renovation website.

Website includes a project overview, project teams, design and construction, live views of the Thompson Project, project update newsletter, and FAQs. According to the Library Director, the challenge of this project is to design a library for the 21st century that is beautiful, functional, and flexible enough to bring paper- and digital-based information services together.

A Wiki Result: Guide For Planning Higher Education Library Spaces

A Wiki Result: Guide For Planning Higher Education Library Spaces

This collaboratively-produced resource, with tons of links, should be in everyone's bookmarks: "In response to frequent inquiries for information about planning academic library buildings, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) have joined forces to provide a basic framework for architects, planners, and librarians embarking on planning and design of libraries for higher education."