Van Pelt Library gets new reference area as renovations continue

The project's latest phase includes work on the entrance area and circulation center. If you find plastic tape or temporary walls blocking your way to a once-familiar stairwell or study carrel in Van Pelt Library this semester, don't be alarmed: they're a sign of progress. Workers completed a major phase of the Van Pelt renovation project last month with the makeover of the first floor reference section. And more changes are on the way, according to Joe Zucca, executive assistant to Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Paul Mosher. The multi-phase rehabilitation of the 35-year-old building began in 1995 with the renovation of the second-floor Lippincott Library. Next was the creation of new space for library staff on the building's first floor, the Goldstein Information Processing Center and an electronic classroom. Phase III of the project -- new reference facilities and study areas on the library's first floor -- was completed in December, just in time for students to try out some of the new spaces during the final exam period. The new reference area includes computers to access library databases and a large, sun-lit study lounge. The Class of 1968 Reference Center and Class of 1964 Lookup Center, which contain stacks of books and dozens of computers, are located near the new study area. Getting to the new facilities, however, is a bit of a challenge at this point. Only one elevator currently serves the new area and the second floor, which is undergoing construction for future renovations. The location is also accessible from the library's main staircase. Zucca said the renovations were necessary to bring the library into the 1990s. "We've brought the building up to date," he said, explaining that the building's original design did not meet the electrical and lighting demands of heavy computer use. A major aspect of the renovations, Zucca added, is the library's "aesthetic" makeover. "It was an unattractive, cold place to work in," Zucca said. "What was appealing to tastes and interests in the 1960s just doesn't appeal to the 1990s and the 21st century," he said. With the reference center completed, library staff members are preparing for the latest phase: renovations of the main entrance and circulation center, which should be finished in August. Microforms and periodicals from the current second-floor mezzanine will move to the former reference area on the first floor. The four phases of the rehabilitation project carry a $7.5 million price tag. Funding came from donations, in many cases from gifts from reunion classes, according to Adam Corson-Finnerty, director of library development and external affairs. "It's not just one or two wealthy individuals," Corson-Finnerty said. "It's hundreds of alums that contributed anything from $25 to $100,000." The Kresge Foundation, a private group which funds construction projects in universities and libraries, matched many of the donations, giving $500,000 to the project. Library officials are now raising funds for the project's final two phases, which would bring an undergraduate study center and a cyber-cafe to the ground floor while fixing-up the sixth-floor special collections library. University officials have decided that funding for student scholarships and the Perelman Quadrangle take precedence over the library renovations, according to Corson-Finnerty. As a result, no completion date has been set for those renovations. Currently, workers are attempting to continue construction without disturbing students' studying. A temporary wall was recently erected in the ground-floor Rosengarten Reserve area to block off the demolition of the winding stairwell in the center of the study area. Officials will dedicate the new facilities later this year.