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Sam Feldstein
Camden Willeford, a sophomore studying business marketing, takes notes on marketing methods from his laptop in the Silent Reading room in the West Wing of the D.H. Hill Library. When asked about his opinion on the West Wing's closing for renovation next week, "I know it will be for good improvements. I study here a lot but the changes will hopefully make it easier and better for studying" Willeford said. "I can go to the 9th floor bookstacks to study."
Starting February 9, the West Wing of D.H. Hill library will close for the remainder of the semester due to the installation of a fire-suppression sprinkler system.
Further renovations to the West Wing of the library cannot be done unless the sprinkler system is installed, according to Patrick Deaton, administration director for learning spaces and capital management.
“In the long run, this upgrade to basic infrastructure will also set the stage for some key improvements to student and faculty spaces in this part of the building,” Deaton said.
After the sprinkler systems are installed, several other renovations will be made that include the opening of Makerspace, a 3D printing and laser-cutting prototype.
“There won’t be a big difference right away, but in the months after the West Wing reopens, students and faculty will start to see a variety of renovated spaces on both floors of the West Wing,” Deaton said. “There’s also the new Makerspace that will be opening next to the Ask Us center.”
Shaunak Turaga, a junior studying electrical and computer engineering, said he uses the West Wing of the library often as an engineer who is not on central campus a lot. Turaga also said he was upset at the closing of this side of the library, especially since it had adopted the new hours.
“I try to maximize my time here at the library when I am on central campus,” said Turaga. “Learning that part of the library is closing is very unfortunate.”
The first floor of the West Wing houses the periodical shelving, the Creamery and a variety of study spaces. The second floor of the West Wing contains the auditorium, mini-theatre, faculty senate and additional study spaces.
During the West Wing closure, periodicals will have to be requested at the Ask Us center and newspapers will be moved to the East End’s ground floor reading room. The auditorium, theater, reading room, Tech Sandbox, Terrace, Creamery and Cone Zone will not be available. The Faculty Senate will move to the ground floor of the South Tower.
Deaton assures that the closure of the West Wing will not affect the Atrium, which is located on the ground floor of the West Wing and will remain open as usual.
“Students will be inconvenienced to some extent because the heavily used study spaces in the West Wing will be unavailable,” Deaton said.
Meredith Roche, a freshman in FYC, said she is concerned about the amount of space that will be available in the library.
“I think that the library is going to be a lot more crowded which is going to be a problem, especially around exam time,” Roche said.
The study rooms will be harder to reserve once the closure of the west wing is underway, predicts Ian Hill, a sophomore studying engineering.
“I know a lot of people use the quiet study room a lot, so they might get misplaced,” said Hill. “I guess that people will be using the study rooms in the rest of the building more, so it’s going to be harder to get reservations. But other than that, I don’t see too much of an impact.”
Although the West Wing will be closed for the rest of the spring semester, Deaton said there is a chance spaces will become available before the semester ends. If construction stays on schedule, students will be able to use the Makerspace before the end of the semester.
“If we are able to open up spaces before the end of spring semester, we will do so,” Deaton said.
Editor’s Note: The article originally misidentified Shaunak Turaga as a female. That is incorrect, as Turaga is a male student.