Berry Library invites a narrow range of comments from students. Words like "functional" and "sanitized" tend to dominate. Berry Library's enormous size and complicated layout can be overwhelming even for an intelligent Dartmouth student. Garish sculptures represent a poor attempt at humanizing and beautifying a space that has the atmosphere of a hospital. However, like it or not, Berry is here to stay. Buildings tend to have a long shelf life. The architectural wonders of the Hop, the Choates and Bradley have long become part of the Hanover landscape. On the bright side though, with our new warehouse, it will be a long time before people can make snide comments that Dartmouth has a gym larger than its library.
Nonetheless, Berry can be made into a better library. While the physical structure of the building cannot be changed short of a complete reconstruction, the interior layout and atmosphere of the library can be refashioned to make up for some of the flaws of its design.
To begin with, Berry probably has the noisiest and busiest reference section of any library I have seen. Reference sections are meant to be quiet areas of scholarly research. Here at Berry, someone thought it would be a good idea to run a busy passageway through the heart of the library. In winter, there is literally a mud track running from Baker to Novack. All we need is for Cabin and Trail to paint a couple of blazes and the scenic detour of the Appalachian trail is ready. Hey, hikers can even check their email.
The reference section needs to be enclosed. We need to demarcate between what is supposed to be a study space from what is becoming a social space. Noise, loud conversations, and human traffic along the main corridor seriously disrupt whatever little "library atmosphere" that the reference section has. I would recommend constructing a long glass partition extending from the grand staircase to where the brick wall of Baker stacks ends. Or carpeting the main corridor and grand staircase to reduce the noise of heavy footsteps.
The complexity of Berry Library can also be somewhat mitigated. Before the advent of Greenprint, it made sense to locate the print window where the printers and people sorting the printouts were-down in Berry dungeon. Yet, the current concentration of printers at the same spot confounds me. Wouldn't it be better if the printers were dispersed throughout the library? Why can't a couple of printers be stationed in Novack, on the third floor of Berry, or even in the reserve corridor? Now that printing services can be dispersed, it makes no sense to still force everyone to converge on the same location. The more students have to negotiate three elevators and two staircases to get a one sheet printout, the more likely they are to complain. Make things easier for them, and the Berry librarians can save their earplugs for other library users.
The library can also be more attuned to students' preferences. Generally, students like to study on a couch, or at least in a nicely cushioned office chair. This explains the curious phenomenon of runaway couches and the steady inertia of their metal or wooden cousins. The rule of thumb: the further a chair is moved away from its original position, the more popular it is. Those are the chairs to get in the next budget.
Also, given the powerful lighting that Berry library enjoys, we might as well make good use of it. A couple of houseplants, carefully placed, would reduce the harsh clinical atmosphere. Once we have some constant sunshine, an attempt could be made to transplant some of the ivy creepers from Baker to Berry. Other creepers could be grown from the roof of Berry and allowed to drape the building to give it that mature dignified look.
Finally, something needs to be done about those sculptures. The donor of those objects should be advised that the profound artistic quality of these works require an alternative location more suitable for their quiet contemplation away from other distractions. If the donor refuses to take them back, the Hood Musuem would have to find some other place to store its junk. If it is too costly to move them, I'm sure enough students can be found to do the job for free.
