Transforming a 45-year-old library into a modern Learning Commons effectively requires turning the building inside out. While the original library was inwardly focused with perimeter offices and study carrels surrounding stack space, the new Information Commons looks out to the College quad and reveals the activity within. Dark glass and brick infill panels are replaced with new windows. Where print materials were the emphasis, student services are the focus. Where light was previously excluded, the building is opened up. Where the interiors were static, everything now moves.

 

The new first floor houses a 24-hour Reading Room with Information and Technology Services desks. The second floor is home to the learning commons, a collaborative work, study, and presentation space. On floors 3 and 4, cellular spaces are moved to the middle of the plan so that people occupy the day lighted perimeter. The project is a collaboration between the library, Academic Success Center, and Information Technology Services.