Ohio State University revamps its library services as it revamps its buildings Late last year, Ohio State University (OSU) library director Joseph Branin graciously invited me to visit for an up-close look at the William Oxley Thompson library renovation and construction project underway on his campus. I eagerly accepted. Since 2001, when I first began reporting on the project, I’ve been amazed by the plan, its size and ambition: at about $106 million, it may be the largest university library renovation in the nation’s history, and one with a lot of moving parts. The project aims both to restore OSU’s library to its early 1900s architectural glory and equip it for the next era of library work. It is a major undertaking that requires $30 million in outside fundraising, the unwavering support and as much as $76 million from the OSU administration, and considerable political will in the state. It also requires patience from OSU students, faculty, and library staff as the Thompson library, the main library on campus since 1913, now closed until 2009, replaced by a network of temporary “swing spaces” and services. And, of course, there are the considerable engineering, design, and philosophical challenges of remaking a major university library system in the midst of a digital revolution. So, it’s February, and here I am in Columbus. It is a bitter cold seven degrees. As I prepare to tour the libraries, it’s not lost on me that this past autumn Columbus was lush and brimming with Buckeye fever as the storied OSU football team celebrated an undefeated regular season. I should have come in the fall. My managing editor has always suggested this, but I really do need to get a better grip on my schedule.

9AM Ackerman Road

OK, big deal, it’s cold in Columbus in winter. The welcome I receive is warm, and, just into the new quarter, the timing is perfect. My day begins at 8:40 a.m., when OSU communications coordinator Larry Allen picks me up to tour the Ackerman Road swing space. Essentially Ohio State’s “main library” until 2009, Ackerman is, well, impressive. It houses most of the library’s collections (some reside in storage or have been moved to other libraries on campus), laid out on one expansive floor, making for an incredible sight; rows and rows of stacks literally stretching for blocks. It is clean and well lit, with ample seating, concrete floors, and high ceilings. The staff have put in considerable work making Ackerman efficient and comfortable, cleverly embracing the industrial feel of the space. Graphic designer Pam McClung has created excellent signage throughout, like highway signs (Chinese history, next exit), that is both easy to spot and read and infuses the space with a genuinely cool aesthetic, some feat given that the raw warehouse must have looked more like an old airplane hangar than a potential library. By 9:15 a.m. I’m settling in with a much-appreciated cup of coffee and talking with OSU librarians Ryan Langhurst and Dona Straley. “Much of my life is bound up with the renovation,” says Straley, who as OSU coordinator of collections is heavily involved in devising collection and service plans on campus. “From summer 2005 until the late autumn 2006, I worked on getting the collection moved out of the Thompson library. As soon as we moved, I started figuring out what we’ll take back to the Thompson in 2009.” A little over a year ago, Straley’s day to day involved preparing for class sessions on Middle East library resources, monitoring approval plans, deciding what to order, cataloging, and answering reference questions from faculty, students, and other patrons. Today, there’s still that, but there’s a lot more talk about ongoing projects, including working out formulas for what will go back into the renovated library as well as where it will be located. While not yet exactly determined, fewer books will go back to the new library in favor of study and multimedia space. “The renovation project has brought many new opportunities for library faculty and staff,” says Langhurst. “Many of us have taken on additional responsibilities.” As OSU facilities coordinator, Langhurst oversaw the actual, physical move out of the Thompson building to Ackerman and other libraries. In all, 1,076,500 volumes, as well as most of the microforms and map collections, were moved to Ackerman. Roughly 61,400 volumes of reference and periodicals, microforms, and the DVD and VHS collections went to Sullivant Hall, which also houses a new learning commons. Some 232,000 special collections from different sites went into storage at OSU’s book depository over an 18-month period. In 2009, all special collections will reside in the new Thompson. As for staff, 171 librarians also moved, 136 of them to Ackerman. Incredibly, the complex move out of Thompson came off mostly according to plan but not without anxious moments. Construction issues at the Ackerman space threatened to delay occupancy past the start of the fall 2006 quarter, Langhurst recalls. “Since the Thompson library was already closed, students would not have had physical access to materials for an extended period of time.” In a way-too-exciting resolution, Ackerman was granted occupancy hours before the moving trucks from Thompson were set to roll.

10am The swing space

Straley and Langhurst lead me on a tour through the expanse of Ackerman, and something stands out. Aside from workers, I have yet to see a student. As well executed as the Ackerman facility is, it has one strike against it: it’s about two miles from campus. “We’d obviously like to have students in the Ackerman library and have it be a bustling, vibrant place,” says Straley. “But we knew going into this that the physical location meant that students would have to plan a trip out rather than just dropping in between classes.” To get there, students can hop on a free bus that leaves campus for Ackerman every 15 minutes. On closer inspection, however, the lack of students at Ackerman can’t all be blamed on the distance. You see, OSU librarians deliver, literally. As part of plans to compensate for the Thompson closure, the libraries bring circulating materials from Ackerman to campus three times a day for patron pickup. For things like journal articles, book chapters, or essays, the library offers free scanning and electronic delivery. “We’re also willing to make special arrangements for patrons who have special needs,” Straley adds. “For example, if someone needs a long run of microfilm for a long period of time, we’re willing to keep it on the central campus for them to use there.” OSU has always been good at document delivery, Straley says. But, clearly, there is no better promotion for your document delivery services than to close your main library. The libraries’ service plans are working so well that even though gate count is off, circulation has actually remained steady. It’s a testament to good planning and excellent execution. “It means patrons still want the content we have,” Straley observes.

10:30am The director

What’s it like running one of the nation’s top public university libraries while simultaneously tearing it down, setting up interim space and services, and managing one of the state’s largest construction projects? “I still spend most of my time directing the library system,” OSU director Joe Branin insists, giving his staff praise for their hard work. But let’s not mince words: this massive project will define Branin’s tenure at OSU, and he is clearly proud of and invested in it. “We expect the library to be a major gathering place for faculty and students, because of its architectural beauty but also its functionality as a learning and research center,” he says. “I’ll also continue looking for new ways we can reach out to the larger Ohio community, and make the Thompson a resource not just for the university but for learners and scholars around the state and the whole country.” Part of achieving that mission is not to be limited by space or formats. “Flexibility has been a key design principle for us,” Branin explains. “So we can modify the building as we see formats of information and use patterns change.” The new Thompson library, he stresses, will use space and technology together to offer new opportunities as well as preserving the best of traditional library service, including, of course, books. “Print resources will continue to be a significant presence, and special collections will be highlighted in ways that have never been possible.” Clearly, one of Branin’s most important roles as director these days is fundraising. For someone who says he did little fundraising in his previous job at SUNY–Stony Brook, he’s proven a natural. As of this writing, the OSU libraries have raised a hefty $23.3 million from over 2000 individuals toward the $30 million it is required to contribute, in both small and large denominations. Branin calls these gifts “welcome” and “motivating.” Such an ambitious fundraising goal, however, has provided some pressure-filled moments. Branin recalls the tension of meeting with OSU administrators when it looked like the project would be delayed as a fundraising goal loomed. Soon after, the OSU athletic department unexpectedly saved the day with a whopping $5 million gift, generously sharing the largesse it received from a new merchandising deal. In a brief meeting later that day, fundraising coordinator Gay Jackson tells me the library campaign is a pleasure to work on. “It’s a library,” she says. “Who can be against a library?” In truth, a project requiring so many institutional resources is not without opposition. “A university as large as Ohio State always has many needs competing for limited funds,” Branin says diplomatically, gratefully acknowledging receipt of the largest capital allocation in OSU history. “I can appreciate the impact this has had on other projects across the university.”

1pm The quiet at Sullivant

After lunch, it’s off to the Sullivant library, located on the edge of campus. A picturesque former museum, it now serves as OSU’s main campus library while Thompson is closed. In spring 2006, the libraries opened a state-of-the-art learning commons here featuring lots of seating, computers, expanded services like scanning and printing, flexible space including a meeting room, and areas designed for preparing and practicing presentations. The commons also features tech help, staffed by the OSU office of information technology. The vibrant environment is bustling with activity. There’s just one catch: it’s too quiet. So much so that the space has signs, created by McClung, reminding students to “Please, talk!” Allen is puzzled by this reluctance to make more noise. “They kind of police themselves,” he says. Perhaps the librarians could reverse-shush? I suggest. They could tap patrons on the shoulder and say, “Excuse me, could you please raise your voice?”

1:30pm Student voices heard!

Megan, a junior international studies major, is as stumped as Sullivant librarians are by the silence in the commons. “They probably appreciate the quiet because their dorms are too loud.” I ask her and Shelby, a junior English major, the $106 million question: How do they feel about losing the Thompson library for the remainder of their undergraduate education at OSU. “It’s frustrating,” Megan concedes. “I used to live at the library. All of this stuff is going on, and we’re not going to be here when it’s finished.” In addition to the library construction, Megan notes, OSU’s student union is closed and undergoing renovation. Shelby, who transferred from a small college in Cleveland, also voices frustration about the Thompson closure but says library service at OSU is still “way, way better” than her previous institution. Neither woman has yet to visit the Ackerman facility. “I don’t even really know where it is,” Megan says, adding that she’s not sure she’ll ever go to the space. Both doubt they’ll really need to, citing the excellent delivery service and the comfortable, efficient confines of the Sullivant. “I can make a request and pick up my books here, send some email while I’m waiting,” Shelby says. This has to be good news for OSU librarians. After all, if your students didn’t complain about losing their main library on campus, you’d have real problems. In addition, Megan and Shelby confirm trends that are central to the design of the new Thompson library: they say they value the library most as a social space and a study space and use mostly digital resources but still need books. Both also concede that the Sullivant library, while on campus, is a bit of a hike. Like many students, they occasionally pop in to the Science and Engineering library, which, located close to Thompson at the heart of the campus oval, has seen a 30 percent spike in traffic. Has that been an issue for science and engineering students? “Yeah, I think so,” says Megan. “Some of them look a little stressed!” At this point, a third student unexpectedly joins us. “Excuse me,” he says. “I know you’re doing something here, but could you please keep it down?”

2:30pm Science and Engineering library

It is between classes, and, as suggested, the Science and Engineering library is jammed. Students are queued at the desk to retrieve materials. Seats are filled. Especially on such a cold day, this library offers the most central place to study between classes, right off the oval. Over the course of the project, Allen says measures will be taken to alleviate the pressure here, including plans for a learning commons and expansion of the Digital Union. The Digital Union is an innovative partnership of libraries and the office of the chief information officer to provide enhanced technology for teaching, learning, and research. Located on the third floor of the Science and Engineering library, the Digital Union “invites collaboration on digital multimedia projects from an interdisciplinary mix of faculty, students, and staff.” For now, however, the bustle in the library confirms that student traffic patterns don’t change easily. “It’s funny; a lot of students will wait someplace rather than walk across campus to get it right way,” Allen says.

3pm Ghosts in the library

This is my favorite part. In late afternoon, we’ve donned hard hats in the closed Thompson library. It’s the first time Allen has been back since the move. The ghosts of 1913 are all around us as a project engineer outlines how construction will go: a rather out-of-place addition tacked to the back of the library in 1977 will be demolished, raising again the question: What were we all thinking during that decade, anyway? He points out the lovely old library façade and the huge open atrium to be built before we climb the stairs to what will be a centerpiece of the renovation: restoration of the majestic reading room. In need of space in the 1960s, the Grand Reference Room was halved laterally, a floor splitting the cathedral ceiling, an architectural sin born out of need. The enormous windows that look out over the campus are still stunning, even cut in half. “This room is going to be really amazing,” the engineer says. Amazing again, he means.

3:45pm Faculty club

We leave the library, enclosed by a chain link fence, and head to the faculty club, where North Carolina’s Laura Gasaway is speaking on “Intellectual Property in the Digital Age,” part of a library-sponsored lecture series. It is a fitting close to an eye-opening day. As OSU librarians and administrators invest in the future of their libraries and their institution, Gasaway, a law professor and a cyberlaw specialist, expands the conversation even more. At the end of her talk, she answers a barrage of questions about the future of information. In 2009, OSU will have its new library, but it is never too early to focus on the next round of challenges.

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Andrew Richard Albanese is Editor, LJ Academic Newswire