By the end of the day on Friday, June 29, most of the shelving was erected in the new library. We were still stymied by a few missing pieces. This photo from the center section shows the dark grey AMBS shelving on the east end of the north wing. Because there are two rows fewer than I had anticipated(!) and the bases are eight inches narrower than the layout showed, we ended up with a large open area in the middle of the north wing. This actually opens up the center of the north wing in a way that is quite nice, quite unexpected. In the future, two or three rows of shelving could be added here to increase the book capacity of the library. Sarah Leaman is in the foreground assembling more shelving. She stuck it out until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 29.
The west area of the north wing has light grey shelving, some from California and also old AMBS shelving. Because the bases are four inches narrower than we had planned, we have room for an additional row of shelving. We will add this row after the July book move using some donated shelving from Valparaiso University that just happens to be the right color. It currently is holding books in the reading room.
The California shelving is fully erected in the south wing. Back periodicals will be shelved here. The computer lab area will be on the left side of this space, to the north. The area in the back is for the audiovisual collection and microfilm viewing. The area in the foreground of this picture will have two rows of new periodical display shelving, a study table and two soft chairs. I took this picture from just inside the library entrance facing east.
The low shelving in the reference area also came from California where the 42" high frames were cut down and modified from standard 90" frames. The frames were less uniform than the standard units creating a challenge for the crew to get the rows straight and level. Matt Tschetter used washers to get the proper spacing between the frames and finally got the result we needed. These low shelves will have cherry end panels and a cherry shelf across the top. Having the reference books so low will be a bit awkward but the shelf on top will provide a convenient support for reading.
July 1 and 2, the summer crew finished cleaning all the shelving: vacuuming, dusting and damp wiping. When I returned from a long July 4 holiday, Cal Zehr worked with me to figure out how we could obtain all the missing pieces of shelving either from our dealer in California or by making do with AMBS pieces. We will be ready for the book move which is still scheduled for July 23-27.
For the last two week summer session, July 9-20, the library will remain in its temporary locations. I will finish preparing the back periodical section for the move by selecting lesser used and older volumes for closed storage in the library basement. Sharon Baker, volunteer coordinator, is scheduling volunteers for the three weeks after the move, July 30-August 17. They will deconstruct shelving and erect it in the library basement. Less strenuous tasks include checking call number order in the books that were moved and inserting magnetic strips in books in preparation for the library materials security system.
The project is on track and the new building is looking more and more like a library. Thanks to all volunteers and employees who contributed to setting up the shelving.
