TSC Computer Lab, Bookstore see major changes
The Taggart Student Center computer lab has extended its weekday hours until 2 a.m., starting Monday.
“Our statistics showed that the demand up to 2 a.m. is there,” said Gary Egbert, manager of Student Lab Services.
Egbert said student usage of the TSC computer lab is not high enough between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. to open the lab for 24 hours a day.
In addition to the newly extended hours, the TSC computer lab updated all of the computers and added 25 new computers. The new computers were funded by the computer portion of the student fees. The lab now has 89 computers.
The remodeling of the lab started after Spring Semester 2003 and was completed on Aug. 13, Egbert said. The lab was reconstructed in sections in order to enable it to stay open during the remodeling.
To make space for the additional computers, the arcade games in The Bull Pen were removed and the computer lab was expanded to fill the vacated space.
“We took it down, the whole thing, for a week and a half to get all the new systems in when the remodeling was done,” said Brent Davis, systems administrator.
One-third of the computers across campus get upgraded each year, Egbert said. The open access computer labs in the Merrill Library, the Engineering Building, the Eccles Business Building and Old Main received updates, Egbert said.
The old equipment is placed in the 29 kiosks around campus. “We really get the life out of those computers,” he said.
Egbert said there will also be a new four-station kiosk near the Cashiers Office. It is expected to be installed in the first of September, he said.
The TSC experienced another construction project over the summer with the remodeling of the south side of the Utah State University Bookstore.
The project was the last phase in the two-phase plan for remodeling the bookstore that took two summers to complete.
“We gutted the place. We got rid of all the fixtures the merchandise was displayed on and we tore out all the furnishings,” said Bookstore director David Hansen. “[We removed] the walls, the ceilings, so that basically it was a cement cavity and we replaced everything.”
The bookstore increased lighting levels and moved the inside entrance six feet to the south to increase space in the hallway. The outside wall was also moved slightly southward.
The checkstand was moved to the north side of the bookstore.
“The idea is to give our cashiers a better line of sight as to customers who are in the store that will need help and to give us more flexibility,” Hansen said.
The layout of the remodeled store moved clothing and other USU apparel to the east side of the bookstore and general books to the west side. Textbooks are located in the north half of the bookstore.
Hansen said the remodeled space gives the bookstore more space and options to display merchandise. It also gives USU students more room to shop, he said.
The bookstore was remodeled to give it updated facilities and an updated look. It was designed to allow for faster checkout and product availability by the way of visual merchandising, Hansen said.
“We believe the bookstore should mirror the values of the campus,” Hansen said.
Hansen said the money used for remodeling came directly from the sales to students, staff and faculty.
The bookstore will be having a grand re-opening during the first four weeks of school.