The Future of the Library As Place – or No Place Joseph J. Branin Director of Libraries The Ohio State University SOCHE Conference Dayton, Ohio January 31, 2007
The William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library
Site Plan: Center of Campus
Original Building, 1910-1913: Allen & Collins Architects, Boston
Original Building, 1913
First Addition, Stack Tower and Two Wings, 1948-1952: Howard Dwight Smith, University Architect
Second Addition, 1975-1977: Lorenz, Williams, Lively, & Likens Architects
The Original Reading Room
The Current Reading Room
The Grand Reference Hall, 2009 (rendering)
Eastern Façade Second Floor Plan
View from the East
View from the Southwest
New Western Elevation
Cross Section of the Renovation Design
New Atrium Spaces
New Atrium Spaces
New Western Reading Room (rendering)
Campus Reading Room: Reclaimed space on the top floor of the stacks tower
Why Invest in a Library as Place Today? For important traditional reasons Central, historical building on campus in need of updating Print remains and important and often preferred medium for reading and “making sense” of information The Myth of the Paperless Office by Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper (MIT Press, 2002) The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid (Harvard Business School Press, 2000)
Why Invest in a Library as Place today? For important new reasons As centers for training and use in new media and information technology As community places for cultural programming and literacy education As social learning space Individual study and research Group work In person interaction of students, faculty, librarians, and information resources
Ohio State Colby College
Wellesley College
Information Commons, Indiana University Libraries
Cornell University Library
Digital Union
ReadAloud
Undergraduate Research
Open Reserve Textbooks
Libraries Key in Shaping Students' College Choice A new study by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers reveals that more than half the students surveyed ranked the condition of a university's libraries near the top of their list of reasons for choosing a college Only lower than facilities related to specific majors Higher than classrooms, dorms, rec centers, student unions, cafeterias Facilities Manager March/April 2006
Extremely or Very Important Facilities in the Selection Decision Process Facilities Manager March/April 2006
Thompson Library Renovation: Timetable and Cost 9 Year Project 2000 to 2002 Feasibility Study (URS/SBRA) 2003 to 2006 Design (Acock/Gund) 2006 to 2009 One Phase Construction (Turner/Smoot) Temporary quarters at 600 Ackerman Rd. and Sullivant Hall $108 Million Cost ($78 in State appropriations and $30 in private fund raising) $73M in construction $35M in furnishings, fixtures, civic improvements, landscaping, design fees
Breaking the Bounds of Place: Digital Information Services Document delivery: information to the office or desktop Networked reference tools, journals, and books-- the OhioLINK connection Discovery through Internet search engines, web sites, local catalogs Campus enterprise-wide digital information support services (a tool kit for library assistance in research and learning)
Breaking the Bounds of Place: Digital Information Services (cont.) Campus enterprise-wide digital information support services Knowledge Bank digital repository service OSU:pro expertise system Copyright management Course management system and e-reserves Media Manager Database construction and data curation
A Great University – A Great Library