Tuesday, July 07, 2015

A New Look for the First Floor

Although the library looks very quiet and empty, big changes are in store for next Fall.


The first floor of McIntyre Library will undergo some needed renovation this summer. Our campus mall entrance doors are being replaced. Constant exposure to winter weather and salt have corroded the doors so much that they weren’t closing properly. The new doors will be ready for our students in the fall. We are also giving the checkout area a new look and making big changes to how our computer stations are organized. Last year the UW System provided some temporary funding to System libraries. This means that McIntyre Library will receive some one-time budget relief in this time when all of our other budget news is bleak. Library staff met to discuss how we best take advantage of this opportunity. We looked at our user surveys and met with student groups as well. In the end we decided to create a more welcoming entrance and to update our learning commons area on our first floor. Christian Paese and the students from the Student Senate Information Technology Commission agreed. They committed matching funds to help us with this project. Christian helped us plan the layout of the space and buy furniture. 


Staff from LTS and Facilities Management are preparing the area for the new furniture. Our current computer stations will be removed, carpets will be thoroughly shampooed and new furniture will be moved in over the next two months. The books and equipment checkout area will see some demolition and carpentry work. Please be patient with any dust and noise. All of our services will remain in place during these changes. We are all very excited to welcome our students back in the Fall with a new look.


2 comments:

Anna said...

Where is the 24 hour lab?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The 8 computers by the entrance simply take up space that we used, and isn't enough for all the people that use the library at night--especially students making film in the Mac Lab.
It's also very disturbing to me because student seg fees just went into the 24 hour lab last summer.

Eric said...

Thank you for your comment and question Anna. The 24 hr. lab has closed. In its place McIntyre Library has taken computers that were in that space and put them in the library, adding computers on nearly every floor. I suggest you contact the Help Desk to find out more information about the Mac Lab. We do have some Mac computers in the library now, however, so please be sure to check those out to see if they have the software you need on them.

Regarding the student money that went into the renovation of the lab it is important to know that McIntyre Library had nothing to do with the closing of the lab. We are trying to provide a similar service to what used to be in the 24 hr. lab by moving computers into the library's 24 hr study (by the entrance as you remarked). If you have further questions or concerns, I suggest you contact the student senate to clarify the reasons behind the labs closure and the changes described above. http://www.uwec.edu/StudentSenate/