The Renovation Continues

The library's major summer project involves unpacking and sorting about 40,000 uncataloged volumes which were sent to Virginia for storage when the renovation of the lower level began late last summer. The books themselves are almost all unprocessed gift volumes received over the past few years; the problem is that even with a large gift storage room with compact stacks we do not have space to store them all. The solution developed by Betty Smith, gifts librarian and the project's coordinator and boss, is to hire additional student help and to encourage volunteer efforts by other librarians and staff to help us determine which of the volumes will be added to the collections and which may be safely recycled by means of a fall book sale. We anticipate having about 10,000 volumes in hand when sale time comes, and Associates will receive timely notice about time and place.

As work begins on renovation of part of the fifth floor, staffs of the administrative office and Special Collections have been playing "musical office." Sue Martin and the administrative staff were relocated to the fifth floor lounge early in May. They had perforce to give up their splendid view to return to refinished and enlarged quarters in early June, but their place was happily taken by Special Collections staff, who anticipate being in a kind of pleasant exile until early August.

Barring further delays, the library will be settled with books all moved and people all re-housed by the opening of the fall semester. We will have gained space for nearly 200,000 additional volumes in the main stacks and for about 35,000 additional rare books, as well as generating much-needed student seating and even more necessary office and work space for staff.