New USU library projected to be complete by fall 2005
After nine years in the waiting, Utah State University administrators and architects are finalizing plans for the construction of the new Merrill Library.
In its last session, the Legislature provided USU with $42 million in bonds to build a new library to replace the Merrill Library, which was built in 1930.
“We’re just very grateful for the Legislature. This is something the university has wanted for a long time. Honestly, we didn’t think we would get it this year,” said Linda Wolcott, USU vice provost for Libraries and Instructional Support.
By Fall Semester 2005, the university plans to have the library completed. The new library will be added on to the Science and Technology Library. It will cover more than 300,000 square feet. It will be built where the Computer Center Building is currently.
“It’s going to put two buildings into one. It’ll be a lot more efficient, and it gives us an opportunity to think about the services that we provide to the students,” Wolcott said.
With the latest technological advances, Gillies Stransky Brems Smith Architects (GSBS), State Department of Facilities Management & Construction (DFCM), university faculty and other organizations, plan to build an energy-efficient building that encourages an environment for
learning.
Darrell Hart, assistant vice president for facilities, said the new library will provide a level of technology that is similar to the Engineering Laboratory Building and the Eccles Science Learning Center.
“From a technology perspective, it will be much improved over the older buildings on campus,” he said.
The first step for the construction crew will be tearing down the Computer Center Building by the end of the semester. The Merrill Library will still be open for students while the new library is being constructed.
The future four-story building will combine the computer labs from the Merrill Library and the Science and Technology Library into an area called the Information Commons.
Between 200 and 250 computers will be organized into groups in an open space. Students will be able to log on to the computers with a password instead of being required to show their student ID cards.
In addition, students can ask the reference desk for help while using the computers, Wolcott said.
The new library will also house many more small and large group study rooms and tables with fewer individual carrels, or study cubicles, than there are right now in the Merrill Library.
Wireless technology will run throughout the entire building, so students can use their laptops when they are studying. The circulation desk will have 12 wireless laptops available for students to check out.
Inside the main entrance to the library, which faces east, will be a café twice the size as the Quad Side Café in the Merrill Library.
“Our idea is that this area will be very active and probably kind of noisy,” Wolcott said.
The new library will also be energy-efficient. The design of the building has a raised floor system containing the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning access. This will provide a more even temperature control and reduced consumption, Hart said.
The source for heating and air conditioning in the building will be the Central Energy Plant. Most buildings on campus have individual chillers and heating units.
“This approach creates the most efficient energy source available for this size of facility,” Hart said.
In the northwest corner of the building, the new library will feature a compact storage area called the Automatic Storage and Retrieval System. It will have the capacity to house 1.5 million books. The temperature-controlled storage unit will be 60 feet wide, 102 feet long and 80 feet high.
A student can request a book from the USU library Web site in his own home. In less than two minutes, the system will read the request and a crane will sort through the eight racks of bookcases to find the right book. The book is ready for the student by the time he walks to the library, Wolcott said.
Due to the limited space and excessive materials in the library, this system will allow more efficient retrieval and storage.
Fewer than 10 universities in the nation have this technology in their libraries. The SK Daifuku Corporation will be heading the project. The storage unit will house books not used very often and bound journals.
The university is building the new library based on the materials and technology that will be available in 2025.
“The new library will be a signature building for this campus and one that will serve our students for many years to come,” Hart said.
For nine years, the university has requested funding from the Legislature for a new library.
The Merrill Library has three problem areas that make the building structurally unsafe: various life-safety issues, lack of functionality and multiple security problems, according to the USU library Web site.
After the new library is completed, the Merrill Library will be demolished. When demolition is completed, the site will be restored as a green space until another building can be funded, Hart said.
“The site is a prime location, and we would anticipate a major building being built there,” he said.
It is unknown at this time what the new library will be called, but the USU Development Office is looking for a major donation to influence the naming process.
–mmackay@cc.usu.edu