April 28, 2006

Library enters the next chapter

By JON MOFFETT
jrm001@marietta.edu

When students walk up and down the mall on Marietta’s campus, they notice Dawes Memorial Library. Whether they view it as an unattractive concrete box, or as the centerpiece for learning, no one can argue that it isn’t visible. For seniors, it has been there sine they arrived, and it will be there when they graduate. But for the rest of the student body, Dawes will be nothing but a memory in a few years. It’s time to welcome in a new era at Marietta College.

By now, everyone knows about the large donation from Laura Baudo Sillerman and Robert Dyson for the funding of a new library. What many students don’t know is just how beneficial this new academic focal piece will be to the entire campus.
At a meeting, architects Burgess and Niple provided several models for the new library to paint a better picture in order to help clear up some of the unanswered questions. Although nothing is set in stone, these models gave a better understanding of what to expect out of the new building. As far as actual dimensions, shape, and location are concerned, nothing is absolutely certain.

The location for the library is probably the easiest of the three stepping-stones to decide. Both the College and the architects have been observing locations, student traffic, and simple logistics. Tentatively, the library is slated to go where Dawes stands, but will allow for “green space,” as College Relations Director Tom Perry referred to it as, between the new library and Gilman Student Center.

This ‘green space’ is something that many of the college officials are striving for, in addition to the library. This space would be the typical quad that students think of when they think of a college. “Were looking to add a green space where students can, and I know I’m being cliche, play Frisbee or hacky-sack, or lay out if they’d like.” Said Perry.

As far as the actual library is concerned, the school is looking for a more contemporary focal point of academics. “The new library will fit the look of Marietta,” said Perry. It will feature a learning center, so that teachers can use new technologies and methods to better enhance their curriculum. But the new facility won’t be purely for academics, although that is the focus. The library will also feature a cafe area, where students can go and meet up with friends and just relax in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.

“I can picture students in the library, and looking out seeing their friends having fun in the green space. I think the college wants an area where students feel comfortable eating their lunches on the steps. Just an inviting atmosphere. I feel that the library will be a hub for students.”

Perry also added that the library idea is nothing new. “We didn’t just get a ten million dollar donation and say ‘let’s build a new library.’ What most students don’t understand is that this has been in the plans for over a decade.” The new library has been in the works since the building of both the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center, and the Rickey Science Center.

“When you talk about priorities, it’s almost like you have a list. You work on what’s available. The Recreation Center and the Science Center became available first, so they became the priorities. But that doesn’t mean that the library idea was scrapped,” Perry added.

The current plan is to divide the contents of the library into two sections. The first section, or the active collection, will be all materials that have been checked out after a certain time. The inactive collection will be the remainder of the contents that haven’t been checked out as recently.

The active collection will be moved to the third and fourth floors of Mills, and the inactive collection will be moved off campus to a site somewhere in Marietta. The removal of the active books is set to begin a week before commencement, with the inactive ones being taken away during winter break of 2006.

Construction for the new library is set to begin in 2007, and is scheduled to be finished for January 2009.

Perry commented “I think that our campus needs to grow, evolve and reinvent itself, it’s basic survival. This is going to be a great thing. It will totally change the face of campus for the better.”