The library’s upcoming building addition and renovation project is a critical advancement that will provide us with more space and technical infrastructure to deliver the services necessary for 21st century scholarship. Our objective is not simply to create more room for book stacks or study tables—although we will be doing that—but to enhance the library’s ability to fulfill a campus leadership role in scholarly resource and information management. Over the next year we will be working to align and design learning outcomes with new learning spaces and scholarly services. We want to ensure that these spaces advance your needs. Your input and engagement with students and faculty is critical for our success.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2012. We are now in the final phase of developing the construction documents and will be moving forward in the Spring. The project is slated to take two and a half years, so we expect a grand opening in 2014.
One of the key challenges we face is the need to vacate the two-story section of Davidson Library, which holds the science and engineering collections, the map and imagery laboratory, government information center, media collections, curriculum lab, and numerous staff workspaces. This is going to be a disruptive period for both library users and library employees. We are doing everything possible to maintain access to information needed by you and your students, study spaces, and services. We have had many people ask if the library is going to be closed during construction and just to be clear—we are definitely going to be open and operating.
As we consider all the possibilities for the new and renovated space, we are particularly excited about an area that we have designated as the faculty collaboration studio. We imagine this as a welcoming workspace that is both comfortable and equipped with the latest technology. We envision additional spaces where you can bring colleagues or students together for scholarly projects, as well as gallery and exhibit spaces. We want the library to be a laboratory for learning on our campus. We looking forward to developing an environment that will help advance teaching and facilitate learning. For more information please visit: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/building
