Library News for the Faculty

From University Librarian Gary E. Strong

I'm pleased to report that over the summer we have made substantial progress in our plans to renovate the Charles E. Young Research Library so that it will better support and facilitate the research and learning objectives of faculty and graduate students in the humanities and social sciences.

As I mentioned in the spring quarter issue of Library News for the Faculty, we have been working with the UCLA Capital Programs office to identify an executive architect to renovate the first floor and lower level. Of the firms that submitted proposals, Perkins and Will has been selected. Established in 1935 by Larry Perkins and Philip Will, it has earned acclaim for its higher education projects as well as those in the corporate, commercial, civic, and science and technology sectors.

The conceptual plans that principals Nick Seierup and Josephine Carmen have developed for the first floor feature an expansive, glass-enclosed reading room spanning the width of the building from just inside the main entrance. Designed to inspire and support research and exploration by faculty and graduate students, this inviting space will offer seating in a variety of configurations as well as frequently used print reference materials and access to online resources.

In the center of the first floor just to the north of the reading room will be a central area of computers equipped with the types of specialized productivity software needed for advanced research. These stations will be configured in clusters to facilitate collaborative projects as well as individually for solo work.

Along the west and north walls of the first floor will be a number of flexible group study rooms that can be combined as necessary. The rooms will provide faculty and graduate students with spaces for small-group instruction and discussion as well as for collaboration on group projects and practicing presentations and papers.

To the right of the main entrance will be the Library's administrative offices, with an expanded conference center just beyond them; departments will be encouraged to use the center for seminars, symposia, and conferences.

Adjacent to the center, the reconfigured, two-part exhibit space will include an open area where materials will be on view at all times. A second, more secure gallery will feature an ongoing exhibit of treasures from UCLA Library special collections, which are the finest in the region and among the best in the country; this destination space will allow campus visitors as well as faculty and students to view unique manuscripts, rare books, artwork, and other items valuable both for their
historical significance and their importance to research.

Two striking changes will also be evident at the entrance to the building. One will be a café, where users can take a break from their work without leaving the building. The other will be a unified service point, at which users will be able to obtain information, check out materials, and seek assistance without visiting different desks for these formerly separate services.

Changes to the lower level will open it up to users and make specialized materials easier to locate and use. Filling the southeast corner of the building will be a second reading room, which will house newspapers, unbound periodicals, maps, and microforms/microfiche, along with study spaces in a variety of configurations.

Just to the north of this reading room will be the offices of the subject specialists responsible for collection development and instructional services in the disciplines the Research Library supports. In addition to their offices, librarians will have access to a consultation space in which they can meet with individuals and small groups to provide more specialized assistance with research projects and teaching assignments.

Our next step is to flesh out the details of this conceptual plan and to present it to the UC Board of Regents at an upcoming meeting. If it is approved, as we have reason to expect that it will be, we will move forward on what is an ambitious thirty-six-month schedule to complete the project.

With the major gift that the Library received when the Research Library was named in honor of former chancellor Charles E. Young in 1998, we already have a large part of the project's funding. However, we are also working to interest several more major donors who may want to attach their names to some of the signature elements such as the first-floor reading room.

I will continue to update you in these pages and through other avenues as our plans move forward. If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts on the renovation, please contact me by telephone at extension 51201 or by email.