*Republished from the September 2015 issue of The Kayseean
By Alex T. Douthat
King University is pulsing with new life as renovations envelop the main campus. Even the E. W. King library has received a much-needed facelift, the planning and renovation of which took approximately one year and required the teamwork and cooperation of the library and facilities staff.
According to Erika Brammer, the Dean of Library Services, planning for the renovations began in September of 2014. The team began by visiting other collegiate libraries that had been recently renovated and from there hired a library space consultant. This consultant then spent three days in the library watching and observing how students and staff interacted with the library. The next step in the process was the hiring of Ken Ross architects as the interior designer. The renovation team clearly desired a great deal of input, but the professionals weren’t the only ones who got a say in the final look of the library. Students were surveyed during this process to ensure that ideas and changes such as the Food for Thought stand would be desirable and well received by the student population.
Physical labor also played a key role in the early stages of the renovations. During this time the library staff began tirelessly weeding through old periodicals and materials. Selected materials were moved to storage in the attic of the library building. These materials were strategically maneuvered to the attic space via a dumbwaiter that reaches from the first floor to the third. This process had to be completed long before the actual renovations could begin.
Once the development stage was complete the real heavy lifting began. Tile was removed, shelving known as “stacks” in library lingo were moved, carpet was installed, and a new ADA accessible unisex bathroom was installed on the first floor. Heavy lifting and construction work was performed by King’s facilities staff and led by Tom Larson the project manager. Special dollies were rented and used to pick up and move fully loaded bookshelves around the library. When the facilities staff completed the heavy lifting and the bookshelves had been moved to their newly assigned positions the library staff had to move the books to stay true to the organizational system. The library crew moved 30,000 books in just two days using a train of labeled carts. Previously, several computers were available to student users.
However, the number of computers in the new lab are more than double in the past. The end result of all this effort is a library that is beautiful, functional, and user-friendly. “We’re thrilled that we brought the physical building up to our professional reputation,” says Brammer. While highlighting the beauty of the existing windows was a priority the main goal of the library staff was to make the library more user-friendly. Updates such as the new circulation desk in the lobby and more open space on the main floor were all geared towards making the library easier and more useful for students. The renovation teams’ hard work and vision have brought the library into the 21st century and has given students a more functional study environment.
