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Renovations to the House Undergraduate Library are scheduled to begin in
February after being delayed for more than a year.
The project had been scheduled to begin in fall 1999. But after Hurricane Floyd
struck eastern North Carolina in September 1999, the state froze all capital
projects not under contract as a way to free up funds for Floyd relief.
That group included the House renovations, a project slated to get more than $9
million from Raleigh at the time. Funding was restored as part of Carolina's
portion of capital improvement dollars resulting from passage of the $3.1
billion bond referendum for the state's universities and community colleges.
House will be gutted and redone completely from the inside. No square footage
will be added, but the project will include a new floor plan with wiring to
support computers and networking, a new HVAC system, larger computer labs,
improved video facilities and more group-study areas.
Also as a result of renovations, the Academic Technology and Networks (ATN)
user services center will move from the basement of Wilson Library to
refurbished space in the basement of House.
House will be closed for renovations beginning Dec. 20. Services will be
relocated to Davis and Wilson libraries during the transition as follows:
* Undergrad Circulation, Reference, Reserves and Serials will be located in
Davis Library;
* Nonprint services will move to the Wilson Library stack area with the
entrance on South Road opposite the Bell Tower; and
* Books will be stored in Wilson Library with access to these volumes by
request.
Construction fencing will be fairly close to the building, but it will not
impede sidewalks, said Joe Hewitt, associate provost for University libraries.
"Pedestrian walkways should be completely open," Hewitt said.
Most of the parking area behind the building will be converted to a
construction staging area, with only service vehicle and handicapped parking
spaces remaining.
Anticipating the project, campus parking officials reduced the lot's number of
permits for this year and any displacement of employee parking should be
minimal, said Mary Fox, construction liaison for the Department of Public
Safety.
Fox said any employees who will have to park elsewhere probably will be
assigned spots in the Stadium Drive area. Flyers will be distributed to any
affected employees just before the undergraduate library lot is closed, Fox
said.
The renovation project is slated to end in September 2002. Hewitt said the
overall effect will be to create a "learning library" with more electronic
resources where students will learn not only how to gather electronic data but
also how to evaluate the information and integrate it with printed materials.
By combining state-of-the-art electronics with strong traditional library
services, the renovations will position the facility to be "the best
undergraduate library in the country," Hewitt said.
Carolina plans to raise $5 million in private dollars to add to the state's
contribution for the project. That effort has raised $2 million so far.
Hewitt said $2 million of the $5 million in private funds will go to high-end
technology and furniture. The other $3 million will establish an endowment to
pay for printed materials and other items aimed at undergraduate education, as
well as fund additional staff positions that will focus on undergraduate
programs, he said.
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