Reeves Library went through significant changes over winter break, such as departments being temporarily located in the building and security gates being removed.
With renovations currently affecting the HUB, many departments are moving around campus. These locations are temporary, only serving as a space for departments while the new HUB is built. With construction beginning this semester, departments moved out of the HUB in January. Many departments moved to locations in PPHAC, while others moved to the library.
USG, MAC, and the Office of Disability and Accommodations offices now inhabit the upper level. USG is in room 309, MAC is in room 310, and the Office of Disability and Accommodations is in rooms 323, 342, and 325. They are located where academic advising was, across the hall from the elevator towards the back of the building. Academic advising can now be found on the third floor of Monocacy Hall.
The security gates have been removed from the main level, meaning that books no longer need to be desensitized when being checked out.
“We don’t foresee an increase in book theft or issues because we trust our community and many other libraries are making similar changes,” Kris Beutler, a library staff member, said.
This change also comes with the movement of the Shakespeare statue, which no longer greets patrons when they enter through the library’s front doors. Shakespeare’s head now stares down the desktop computers next to the circulation desk.
The lower level of the library has seen the biggest changes. The Center for Career and Civic Engagement, another displaced HUB department, now sits on the lower level, towards the back of the library, next to the Afterwords Cafe.
Facilities organized where offices would be relocated on this level.
“With approximately 14 employees, Career & Civic Engagement is one of the larger departments within Student Life, and given the nature of their work, everyone required a private office space,” Amber Donato, Associate Director of Project Management for Facilities, said. “The lower level of the Library offered a large enough footprint to be able to accommodate the staff. After the HUB is finished, the space will be turned over to the Writing Center and will also be available for student use as study nooks.”
This replaces a group of collaborative study spaces, along with replacing a variety of shelving units for books. The Center for Career and Civic Engagement’s hours of operation have not been affected.
The other big change comes from the movement of the Technical Services Department. Now having their own dedicated space immediately to the right of the stairs, they are no longer located in the back of the library, behind the IT help desk. An entirely new office space was built for them over the break.
“The driving force behind relocating Classroom/Audiovisual Technology Services (AV) was the need to place the Mailroom near the Reeves’ loading dock, which was where AV was previously located,” Donato said.”The IT Help Desk was moved to Reeves Lower Level a few years ago, and its location has proven ideal for student and staff access.”
According to Donato, placing AV across from the IT seemed natural, as it also allowed them to support the Zinczenko Media Center. Another reason they were given their own space was due to the significant amount of equipment that requires storage. This new office is not anticipated to affect any future renovations for the Zinczenko Center.
The final department to move from the HUB to the library is the mailroom. Located to the right of the Groenfeldt collection, students can now pick up packages and mail as they would in the HUB.
The last change comes in the form of doors. The Groenfeldt collection is now separated from the lower level by two glass doors, which are now locked every night before closing. The other change is the back door of the library, which students can now tap into until 4:30 pm Mondays – Fridays.
The other departments in the library, such as the IT help desk, have no plans on changing anytime soon. That goes for any other library renovations, which Facilities indicate they have no plans for in the near future.
Some of these changes are temporary, while others are here to stay. With rumors of a potential expansion to the Zinczenko Center happening, these changes come at a time of much anticipation for the University’s future. Whether these renovations will pay off for the University is yet to be seen, but many hope they will.
