Students and staff found fresh paint, new furniture and an unfinished second floor when they walked into Cullom-Davis Library this fall.
The library’s summer renovations added several power outlets, nearly 60 power towers, more than 100 writing surfaces (including dry-erase tables and walls) and movable furniture.
“It’s very different; it’s very open,” Executive Director of the library, Barbara Galik, said. “The whole theme has been collaborative, mobile, flexible.”
The first floor and half of the second floor have been painted and carpeted, and they include new chairs, stools, tables and couches, many of which students can easily move.
“You can move all the furniture, you can move all the tables and chairs, and everything is writable, and it just makes for a much more welcoming environment for studying instead of you feeling like you’re dying in a very closed off space,” freshman elementary education major Shaina Pine said.
To allow more space for this furniture, the shelving on the first and second floors was reduced, the first floor computer lab was condensed and the technology desk and reserve desk will now share one area.
“We really tried to make use of the windows,” Galik said. “The shelving [on the second floor] was back all the way to the windows … so we set up bistro tables so the students can take advantage of them.”
Junior management and leadership major Dave Jensen said he likes the library’s new environment.
“I felt like I had plenty of space, it was a relaxing environment [and] it was nice because it’s just refreshing,” Jensen said. “It doesn’t feel sad – not that it felt sad before – but it’s just nice to get a new look.”
The library also improved its networking to run faster.
“We went from 25 access points in the building to 50, so there are more wireless access points and the speed is higher,” Galik said. “The network is going to rock.”
While the first floor and half of the second floor is completed, the west side of the second floor, which includes the study rooms, will not been finished until mid-September.
“We really pushed, but we ran into problems on [the second floor],” Galik said. “It took more time than we thought it would, it slowed us down, and some of the furniture was backordered.”
Galik said she does not expect a problem with seating or space with the second floor unfinished, but there will be some noise in mid-September when furniture arrives.
“The only loading dock that we have for [workers] to bring it in is in the back, unless they come in the front doors, but then it’s still going to be interrupting students trying to get in the building, so there will be that kind of disruption then,” Galik said.
Some of the old furniture from the first floor was moved to the lower level, which Galik said probably won’t be renovated for a few years.
Galik also said she expects renovations to the library’s lower and upper floors to be put on hold while Bradley plans construction on a new building, the Convergence Center. Set to replace Baker and Jobst halls, this will house the colleges of business and engineering.
“It’s been a real experience, and it’s been a rough summer with everything being done, but I think it looks great,” Galik said. “It’s definitely been worth it for us.”
