Library Renovations: July 2008 Archives

Now that the new carpet is in place we'll be adding new furniture this week, although you may have noticed the addition of some great new soft seating on the east side of the first floor last week. In addition to some painting work, you'll see lots of new furniture being assembled all week on the first floor west of Paley Library. Most of this furniture will be for our computer work area. Not only are we adding new furniture but we'll also be adding more computers to the area. Our new reference desk may be arriving this week as well. We also hope to have our self-service book checkout machines back in place and operating soon.

Renovations are also happening on the lower level of the Paley Library. Currently construction is taking place to create a new service desk area and to add several media viewing/study rooms. During this construction process the lower level is a bit of a mess. We recommend that you explore the second and third floors for good study and computing areas.

Thanks again to the Temple community for their patience and support during our renovation process.

During the week of July 13 renovation activity will continue and expand. On the west side of the first floor carpet work will begin. As the carpet is removed and new carpet installation begins it will be necessary to close the front door entrance to the Library for several hours. During this time access to the Paley Library will be through the Tuttleman Learning Center entrance. The exact date and time of this closure is not yet known, so please check back or just look for sign postings on the building doors. As work continues on the construction of cafe, anticipate the usual hammering and drilling noises. Also, during this week the renovation project expands to the lower level. Mid-week movers will begin preparing the lower level for the new Media Services Unit. For now, the main disruption will be moving equipment. Construction activity will begin later on the lower level. Again, check back for more details soon.

During the initial phase of our first floor west renovation approximately 25 of the Paley Library public computers are relocated to spaces on the second and third floor of our facility. The 25 computers opposite the reference desk area are still available during the renovations.

The second and third floor computers are conveniently located in spaces just off the stairway and elevator lobby. If you need assistance in locating a computer in the Paley Library please ask for help at the Reference Desk.

Here are a few things you should know about the first phase of our first floor (west side) enhancement project. Much of our furniture and equipment will be moved out of the area starting Wednesday July 9. This will result in considerable disruption for many of our users. You can expect the following to happen this week:

Standup Computer Consoles will be moved out of the area

Self-Check Circulation Terminals will be moved out of the area

Computers and associated furniture will be moved out of the area

Reference Desk will be moved to a slightly different location in the same area

All of the Leisure Reading Collection books have already been relocated to the far end of the east side of the first floor (near the Reference Department Office), and all of the New Book Collection has been relocated to an area just opposite the Tuttleman Circulation Desk. While we will have far less computers available during this period, there will still be computers opposite the reference desk and on the upper levels.

Next week you can expect a fair amount of carpet removal in the west side of the first floor. During this period the front entrance to Paley Library on the Bell Tower side will be closed. The only way to enter the Paley Library will be through the Tuttleman Center entrance. We will also begin constructing walls for our future cafe. This will create some noise and possible dust in a small area.

We will continue to keep our user community updated on this project as the work progresses.

Starting with the week of July 7 a month-long project to enhance the west side of the Paley Library first floor will result in some service disruptions to the Temple University Community. While this will cause some short-term inconveniences to you, our library users, we greatly anticipate our ability to serve you better in what will be a more functional, comfortable and attractive space. During the next month we will be moving furniture, laying new carpet, creating a consolidated leisure and new book reading area, providing new computer workstations with updated computer equipment, additional scanners, more collaborative work tables, a new reference desk location, a new display area, adding a news/media area and creating a small cafe for beverages and refreshments. As a result there will be times when computers will not be accessible. To minimize the loss of some computer access we will be adding additional computer work areas on the upper levels of Paley Library.

These renovations and additions to Paley Library will result in an even better facility for study, research and collaboration. We do apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause for our user community. We greatly appreciate your understanding and patience so that we can achieve a better Paley Library. For daily questions about computer availability we recommend you call our Reference Desk at 215-204-8212. If you do have any questions or concerns about this project please contact Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services.