TWO MILES OF SHELVING IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28528, 6 March 1958, Page 7

TWO MILES OF SHELVING IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

There will be two miles and a quarter of steel shelving in the new library of the University of Canterbury and installations so far make this easy to believe. Almost every room is substantially filled with floor-to-ceiling racks and, at this stage it is difficult to see where the library will place 300 seats for readers.

The additional space gained by converting the old two-storeyed school of art and linking it with the present library will multiply accommodation many times, but use of every inch of it will still leave hundreds of books in other stores.

The University of Canterbury is using this expedient to get immediate improvements; but it has by no means lost sight of the plans for a multi-storeyed library in the main block of buildings to be erected at Riccarton. Now that the contractors. have finished alterations and interior decorations and fittings are being done, it can be seen how successfully the school of art conversion has been achieved. The proposal to glass in the western cloisters for the library’s main reception hall at first caused some misgivings on the university council. Some members feared a public outcry against interference with the cloisters and doubted whether the plan would succeed. Now it can be seen that the appearance of these cloisters has been little affected and that the library has gained an arresting entrance.

The whole northern face of these cloisters has been filled with glass panels, giving a fine open view into the library’s new entrance hall. The rear row of cloister columns (also glassed in) separate the vestibule from the main circulation area, which extends will back on to part of the southern quadrangle. Srtildng Ceiling

Traditional Gothic architecture has thus been merged with the modem and it is highlighted by a simple, but arresting ceiling. This has long, flush-fitting, translucent strips covering the lighting, alternated with acoustic panels. This central hall will give oversight of all library traffic. From it members may enter the present library by its existing rear door to consult general reference material and much of the New Zealand collection; move deeper into tne entrance hall to a number of “subject” reading rooms; bear left to the present study room to see general periodicals; or pass into the School of Art for access to the main book collections.

The shelving is the main feature throughout. Slim steel columns line the walls and form recesses on the floor of every room. Each has hundreds of slots into which shelf units, each 34 inches long, can be fitted at varying heights. Each shelf unit will take about 561 b of books and, as there are 4500 of them, they will take about 100,000 volumes.

The magnitude of this collection can be judged by the fact that

a relatively small gallery, upstairs m the school of art, will hold about 10 tons of books. A Photography Suite lhe long entrance hall of the school of art has been converted and conveniences at one end have been replaced by “a photography suite,’ which will be the envy of any amateur. It has a room for micro-filming and contact copying and generous dark-room facilities with yards of stainless steel sink benches. Two former lecture rooms on the ground floor have two tiers of book storage, provided by building mezzanine floors in the same steel materials. These ground floor rooms have reading space along the sunny side. Upstairs four big rooms have shelving round all walls with reading space in the middle. All interiors have been brightened by painting the walls in different shades of cream, grey, chocolate, yellow, green, and flamingo pink. The new library should be ready to receive books toward the end of April. The library may close for a fortnight for the transfer of 100,000 books during this term or the move may be delayed until the May vacation. A big body of students will be employed for the shift. When the changeover is to be made plenty of notice will be given to university staff so that students may be warned to take out any books they may require while the library is closed. Acclimatisation

The college librarian (Mr C. W. Collins) believes that it will take time for students and staff to become accustomed to the new conditions. They have had to contend with cramped library space so long, he says, that they have accepted the habit of reading in their faculty rooms or at their lodgings. With 300 readers’ seats in the new main building and 50 more in the study room, compared with a few dozen at present, many more students will be able to make fuller use of the library. After making final inspections yesterday, before the structural contractors leave, library staff will now concentrate on planning for the changeover. Besides the contents of the present library and basement, they will have to select the material now stored in many places (including attics and basements) round the college, in garages on other properties, and on the Riccarton site. In all, the library probably owns about 130,000 books. Every effort will be made to bring the mostwanted material to shelves where it will be freely accessible, some of it for the first time.

The renovated library will have a life of up to 25 years. But everyone in the university hopes for the early provision of permanent quarters at Riccarton. A notable feature of the conversion is that the bare rooms will still be suitable for other purposes after the steel shelving (95 per cent, of which can be recovered) is moved to the new university site.