Over the summer, the library expanded the 24- hour room and added more space for students to study. Photo by Grace DeSanti.
The 24-hour room at the Robert L. Carothers
An additional 50 seats were added, along with power sources to charge devices and seven computers. The addition was done in collaboration with the Student Senate to ensure that student needs were met.
“We checked in with students, so we were listening when it came to design,” said Karim Boughida, dean of Libraries. “It’s user-based.”
The project’s timeline was relatively quick, with construction starting on July 9 and inspections occurring one the week before school started. Celeste DiCesare, an executive assistant in Library Administration, drew up the original plans.
“I design and build my own houses, so when I knew we were looking to do this, I started doing sketches,” DiCesare said.
Already renovated eight years ago, the 24-hour room had been subject to student complaints due to a lack of space. Efforts to upgrade the space in the past included the addition of Peet’s Coffee in place of the Daily Grind. However, adding on to the room was also a priority for administration.
This addition is one of many projects undertaken by library administration over the past four years in an effort to modernize the library. Previous features, long outdated, have been removed to allow for more space for students to collaborate on projects, use design equipment and use technologies that would be hard to find elsewhere.
Some of the other new features of the library include an artificial intelligence lab and makerspace space. Both these spaces were added with the intention of making the library a place to create and design, as well as a place to study.
In addition, heavy wood furniture has been switched out with lighter, more modern furniture. This was done to allow for furniture to be moved more easily and to allow library spaces to be more dynamic.
“If you had something that didn’t seem to make sense space-wise or seating-wise, we moved it somewhere else,” said DiCesare.
There has also been an increase in seating. In 2015, the Carothers library had 1,458 seats total. Four years later, the library boasts 2,329 seats, which is a 59 percent increase.
Library administration hopes that their efforts to modernize the functionality and aesthetic of the Carothers library will make a more efficient study space, inspire creativity and promote collaboration.