Several new additions were made to the library this semester with even more to come this summer, said Associate Vice President for Communications Shelley Epstein.
“This semester, we’ve added technology to meeting and study rooms,” he said. “This includes projectors and screens in room 215, the Burlington Northern Room, the Sturrock Room and the Wyckoff Room. Supplemental displays have been added to the Packard Room. Monitors have been added to seven study rooms, and a 37” monitor has been added to room 201.”
Rolling white boards have also been installed in addition to the new monitors in the study rooms on the first and second floors, Epstein said.
“Half of the wooden chairs have been refinished so far, and the other half are scheduled to be finished during the next fiscal year,” he said. “We’re also working on reupholstering chairs. Half of these are also complete, and the rest will be finished during the next fiscal year as well.”
New chairs and tables will soon be ordered for the first floor, Epstein said.
“The new chairs and tables will be more comfortable, and they will replace some of the older furniture,” he said. “Tables for group study and computer usage will be purchased for the first floor later this summer.”
Twenty new laptops have been added for student check out, Epstein said.
“There are 10 new Mac laptops and 10 new PCs,” he said. “We have also installed additional electrical and data connections to the first floor to allow distribution of the PCs from the lab to around the first floor. Additional electrical and data connections are being examined for the second floor and basement.”
More room has been added to the first floor by moving the microfilm and readers to the basement, Epstein said.
“We’ve also eliminated four of the nine shelving units on the west end of the first floor,” he said. “A permanent wall has been built on the west end of the first floor to wall off a work area for the library staff.”
All lighting in the library is currently being replaced, Epstein said.
“The installation of completely new lighting should be finished this spring,” he said. “Then over the summer we are going to install new carpet on the first floor, and the purchase of new tables and chairs will be finished over the summer as well.”
With more changes to come over the summer, students seem pleased with the additions to the library so far.
“It seems like there’s more room in the library, which is really cool,” said junior chemistry major Avery Kellogg. “I think the new tables and chairs will definitely be a handy asset when they’re added.”
Senior dietetics and nutrition major Megan Bowen said she is glad Bradley is making positive changes in the library.
“I haven’t really seen any of the new features yet, but I think it’s really great that Bradley is offering these things for the students now,” she said. “It’s a really big help.”