New library long overdue

By Troy Simpson

In just a few years, students currently visiting Orradre Library will no longer strain to stay awake in the fluorescent-lit basement, bargain for time in one of only a few group study rooms or run from floor to floor to access reference and law literature.

Plans for the new $82.1 million library facility have nearly solidified and construction could begin as early as next fall.

Along with making the new library the center for several on-campus support organizations and improving building flexibility and user-friendliness, one of the largest differences between the new facility and Orradre is that more than 75 percent of the volumes will be stored in an automated retrieval system (ARS), as opposed to using standard book stacks.

Upon completion of construction of the ARS, nearly all volumes from Orradre will be moved to the automated section. As Orradre is demolished and the new building is constructed, students will be able to check out books from the ARS, but there is likely to be very little library space to work and study.

Although space may be utilized in the new facility, students will no longer be able to personally browse the volumes held in the ARS. However, university librarian Elizabeth Salzer said approximately 250,000 of the more commonly circulated books would be kept on more conventional book stacks on the lower level and third floor.

Some students are worried about this new system of browsing.

"I think [not being able to browse] is going to be a problem because a lot of students have to look at the books in order to know what direction they have to go in, and by having a robot do that, it's not going to be as personal," said sophomore Nikki Diedrich. "It's actually going to be more time-consuming because they're going to have to keep going back for books if the research that gets pulled isn't effective or beneficial. We will be able to have more books in stock and there will be more research available, but it's a matter of being able to find that research."

Salzer said that incorporating an ARS into the new library was not the first choice of developers, but the space-saving abilities made it a fair compromise.

"I think there may be some [complaints], but we made this decision for a couple of reasons," said Salzer. "We originally had a plan that would put some materials in user-accessible compact shelving, but we later had to cut back on the projected size of the building because of the cost, and realized at that point that we would have to put everything in compact shelving. We felt that students would find that this was a disadvantage, so we started rethinking that, and that's when we decided to look into the ARS option."

Talk of updating Orradre began over a decade ago, but it became apparent to university faculty that merely updating Orradre would be more effort than it was worth. For any major changes to occur to Orradre, other areas of the building would be required to meet current code as well.

"It's difficult in a building of this age to modify it," said Salzer. "It isn't impossible, but it's very expensive. The code has changed and if we made major changes, we would have to update other parts of [Orradre] as well. It costs a lot to take an old building and make it the kind of facility that we want for the 21st century. [Orradre] lacks the flexibility to support the kind of educational programs the university has now, and we did have to look for additional space anyway because we are running out."

The new library will be built on the current site of Orradre library, with its main entrance directly across from the Benson Student Center. Salzer said that in order to make the process of demolishing the Orradre Library and building the new facility as smooth as possible, it will be done in a series of gradual steps. The first of which will be the construction of the ARS between the east side of the Orradre Library and the west side of the Malley Fitness Center.

While many volumes will not be available for browsing, not all students see that as a problem. "I'd love to order [books] directly instead of browsing because I get lost and you look around all these silly aisles and you act like a little crazy person you're like: 'Where is my bloody book?'" said freshman Tara Macken. "And it takes forever. If there was a little machine getting my book, heck I'd have no problem with that at all. Go machines. Go robots. Do the work for me, I'm lazy."

Santa Clara will not be the first university to use an automated system for book storage and retrieval. Other universities using the sorting system originally designed for warehouse storage include the University of Nevada Los Vegas, Eastern Michigan University and Sonoma State University.

"It's easier than browsing books because if you're already online, you can browse as much as you can on the shelf," said Building Manager of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center at Sonoma State University Mike Kiraly. "So really it's a lot easier to have to it brought to you. I think the pros of the system outweigh the cons. It saves space, protects the books in an earthquake, and they're in a modulated and controlled environment."

The architecture of the new library blends traditional mission styling with state-of-the-art technology to form a building designed to meet the needs of all Santa Clara students and faculty. Many large windows, comfortable seating, increased internet access, upwards of 30 spacious group study rooms and a café on the lower level are just a few of the new features and ideas brought to the facility.

In addition to the ARS, developers feel that the new facility will also address many problems currently plaguing Orradre. Nearly 30 study rooms will be placed sporadically throughout the library in sizes designed for four, six or eight people, as opposed to the considerably lesser amount of rooms offered by Orradre. Two classrooms (designed for groups of 20 to 30) will also be placed on the second floor.

On the first floor of the four-story building, the new library will have a café for students and faculty, along with what will be called the Information Commons (a combination of computers, work stations, video playback areas and available support from librarians, Information Technology technicians and Media Services). Media Services and Information Technology will both be moved entirely from their respective offices to the new library in order to make their support more accessible to students.

On the second floor, reference books will be merged with government documents to make research of these areas easier to do simultaneously.

Orradre currently holds approximately 800,000 volumes in roughly 117,000 square feet, but the new library will have the ability to hold upwards of 1,000,000 volumes in a space of approximately 200,000 square feet due to the incorporation of ARS.

"We'll have about 900,000 volumes in that kind of a storage compartment. What that allows us to do is store a lot more printed material in less square footage," said Salzer.

The system operates by storing books in 4' by 6" bins. The volumes are catalogued by computer and when a student requests a particular book, a crane locates the container and brings it to a loading area, from which the book is removed and taken to a circulation desk.

Some students are looking back at the old library with fond memories, and are looking forward to the new updates.

"I think I'll probably be sad to see the old library go just because I'm used to it," said junior Katie Franco. "I've been around for three years and I know my way around, but I think the new library sounds very high tech and up to Santa Clara's standards. The latest technology could potentially be a good thing and I'm always excited for something new."