LIBRARY RENOVATION
SUMMER 2005

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The first floor of Maxwell Library will be renovated this summer.  While this is a seemingly simple claim, the extent of the physical renovation is rather daunting and will affect access to the Library's various collections, the services offered to students and faculty, and the hours of operation.  During the renovation, the entire first floor will be a construction zone and technically the responsibility of the general contractor.  Walls will be demolished, offices relocated, new group study and seminar rooms built, the central staircase will be enclosed, new lighting installed, and all of the collections currently on the first floor will be reorganized and rearranged.  This is a major undertaking.  Because of the scope of the project, the first, second and third floors of the library building will be closed to the public.  However, all of the resources (books, periodicals, videos, DVDs, microfilm, etc.) will still be available for use by students, staff, and faculty.  All materials will need to be requested in advance and they will be available for use or check-out from the ground floor of the Library.

Below you will find a synopsis of how the Library will offer its services throughout the summer renovation project.  All of the Library's various services will be available throughout the summer-just differently.

There will be a Point of Contact service desk (POC) on the ground floor near the Academic Achievement Center and User Support Services.  The POC desk will temporarily replace the Reference and Circulation desks on the first floor.

• The POC will be staffed with one or two staff and/or librarians.
• The POC will be staffed from 8:30 am-8:00 pm Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 am-3:00 pm Friday and Saturday.  The summer hours are posted on the Library's web site at http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/libevnt.cfm.
• Faculty and/or students may be escorted into the library proper to use collections housed in the Educational Resource Center (2nd floor) or Special Collections and Archives (3rd floor).  Please contact the Library at least 24 hours before access to these collections is needed.
• You will be able to request books, articles, DVDs, videos and all other library resources at the POC desk or by using web forms.
• Reference questions, general information questions, and other assistance will be offered from the POC desk.
• All library resources will be checked out from the POC desk.
• Laptops, headphones, and cassette players will be checked out from the POC desk.
• All print and video items placed on Reserve will be available from the POC desk.
• A microfilm reader/printer will be available for use near the POC desk.
• Most requests for library materials and equipment will be filled within 24 hours. Please plan ahead.  [NOTE: Since the print periodicals and reference books will not be moved off of the first floor, Library staff will only have access to them after the construction crews leave for the day. Because the Library is closed on Sundays, materials requested on Saturday will be available on Monday.]
• Assistance with research projects, thesis development, research strategies and other research- and library-related uses is available.  Please consult Marcia Dinneen at 1742.

To schedule library instruction, information literacy sessions, or database use tutorials for your classes, please consult Pamela Hayes-Bohanan at 2893 (or your department's Library subject specialist).

• Instruction sessions may be conducted in your classroom or scheduled in one of the classrooms on the ground floor of Maxwell Library.

The Library's Information Commons will be moved temporarily into Maxwell L12.  The Information Commons is a technology rich end-user workstation environment.

• There will be eight computers with a wide variety of productive applications and links to the Library's online catalog, electronic databases and journals, information resources, and other items.
• There will be two viewing stations (televisions connected to both the campus video system and connected to DVD and video player).
• A laser printer will be available for use.
• A photocopier will be available for use.
• Student workers will monitor this area.

Finally, there will be work tables and soft seating on the ground floor for students use and comfort.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mike Somers, Director of Library Services, at (508) 531.1255 or msomers@bridgew.edu.