Published by llit' Friends of I he I ibrary
Academic Affairs Library
Tlie Universilv ot North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Volume 6, number 1
Spring 1997
Major Renovation
Planned for
Robert B. House
Undergraduate Library
ibrariuite are teachers. As undergraduate students learn
to use llie many information resources available today,
both printed and electronic, it is critical that we give
students the tools to he life-long learners. No student
should graduate from Carolina without having significant
experience in these areas, and as librarians, it is our role to teach
them/' Joe Hewitt said this recently to a group of Library supporters
us lie announced the plans to renovate the Robert
К.
t louse
1 1 n d ergia d u a te Library.
Tlie leaching role of librarians is not always acknowledged.
I lowever. anyone walking into any campus library will see under¬
graduate students consulting with librarians oil a variety of topics,
ranging from how to get started on a term paper on the Brazilian
rain forest to how to use online resources to get the most up-to-
date information on government laws and regulations. One also
sees librarians teaching classes, helping students learn how to tap
into all kinds of information resources io prepare assignments,
identify and learn about prospective employers, and acquire the
skills to evaluate the quality of information they find.
The facility in which much of this leaching takes place, the
Robert B. House Undergraduate Library, is woefully out-of-date.
When I louse opened hi 1968, all that was needed for this statc-
of llie-arl library was a current book and periodical collection
and a card catalog Today, the ideal undergraduate library
includes not only books and periodicals, but also a computer-
based online card catalog, access to the World Wide Web through
the Internet at every study space, classrooms equipped with
computers for each student lo use, ports for laptop computer
access throughout the library, state-of-the-art video, laser disk
and sound equipment, and staff assistance available 24 hours a day.
t hese resources are central in the plan tor 1 louse.
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projected
$8 lo 9 million renovation has been sketched out by the architectural
firm of Nix, Mann,
У
hive working in dose consultation with a
team of experts from the Library and the University's Academic
Technology and Networks (A'I'N) office. AI N will consolidate its
widely scattered user services division in a single space on the
lower level. House is envisioned as a collaborative space where
library and ATN staff will work togelhej lo provide students, faculty,
and the general public with ready access to the latest in information
technology, The conduit needed to cable House for today's and
tomorrow's electronic information systems will be a major
expense. Undergraduate Librarian David Taylor says that on several
occasions electricians have warned that installing one mote
terminal would blow the entire network. A rewired building will
make it possible lo create a network that can keep up widi constant
technological change.
Ihe plan, outlined in tlie accompanying illustrations, recon¬
figures everything from stairways to study spaces. Although
some individual study spaces will be lost, they will lie replaced
with group study rooms which are m high demand by students
because of the many collaborative projects assigned for classes.
To facilitate teaching about library and electronic r< ■sources, new class
rooms will be built, Some will contain computers at every desk and
will accommodate from 15-24 students and an instructor. Students
will also be able to check out laptops for use within the library
(nw'imia! on psgi 2)
13 Hayes Elected Friends' Chair
5 Class of '91 Gift
7 Beautiful Mushrooms
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