2008 Woodie Awards
Library planners cater to campus
By Chelsea Crouse
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News
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The university-wide New Library Program Statement Committee will be chaired by Theresa Liedtka, dean of the Lupton Library, and Janet Spraker, director of engineering services, according to Liedtka.
Community input is very important to the New Library Program Statement, Liedtka said. She said that close to 100 suggestions have already been given to the group by students, faculty, and administrators.
Liedtka said many people have suggested a café and have cited a need for more study rooms.
The plans for the new library will include a café and will have triple the number of study rooms in the current library, Liedtka said.
Miranda Mosley, a freshman from Jackson, Tenn., said, "I think the new library should have a lounge area with a coffee shop and comfy furniture so students can study and relax."
Kris Lape, a freshman from Franklin, Tenn., said, "The school definitely needs a new library. We need bigger, nicer bathrooms and more books to read would be nice."
The suggestions most received have expressed concern about making the new library a LEED certified, green building.
The New Library Program Statement makes the final decisions on what to include in the new library, Liedtka said.
The new library project was state funded in July 2007 and the target completion date is July 2011. The cost of the new library is estimated to be $48 million.
It will be approximately 180,000 square feet and built at the corner of Vine and Douglas streets, adjacent to Chamberlain Field.
"We are designing the new library with the idea that students and faculty are at the center of the process," Liedtka said.
