Charles V. Park Library undergoes renovations to increase group study space
In an effort to digitize a section of its collection and provide group study spaces for students to convene and collaborate, the Charles V. Park Library is undergoing renovations.
The cost of the second floor renovations will be $500,000, given to the library by donors.
Renovations are scheduled to finish by the start of the fall 2016 semester. Reference shelves on the south end of the library will be replaced with pods — small informal presentation areas.
These areas will potentially contain white boards and new technology like video screens, said Thomas Moore, dean of libraries.
“In the future, we will continue to have a combined collection (of paper and digital). As time goes on we see that the paper and print are not being used, only the digital (material),” Moore said. “We have digital versions of many paper copy journals, so we’re going to be looking at removing the print versions so we can do good things in that new floor space.”
Some of the reference material has been discarded, but most has been relocated to other parts of the collection. There will also be new furniture which students can move around to accommodate the need for a collaborative study space.
Most of these changes are a result of current group study space being hard to come by in the library.
Student opinion played a role in the renovations when more than 1,000 students responded in a survey released last fall which contributed to the development of a master plan the library has for future long-term projects.
These future projects may include renovations to the third and fourth floors, Moore said.
