The renovation project first suggested in a 2009 report by the Learning Spaces Study Group, a group of library and Computing Services employees tasked with determining how the College's libraries can better meet students' needs will cost approximately $400,000, according to Justin Anderson, director of media relations for the College.
Funding will come from a "central capital reserve fund" consisting of money set aside by the President's Office for "one-time costs," Horrell said. The renovations will not affect the library's budget and its ability to acquire new materials, he said.
Following the renovations, library hours will be extended to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, Horrell said.
In the News Center, construction will make way for a new coffee bar and seating area. Plans include the addition of a long granite counter with stools at which students and faculty members can enjoy "really good" coffee, pastries and fruit in an environment that mimics that of Starbucks, Horrell said. The counter will also be accessible from the Main Hall.
New high-definition televisions will hang on the Center's walls, and interactive whiteboards "where you can write and capture it on your PC or your Mac" are another possibility, Horrell said.
Designers will try to address the problem of increased noise levels in both the News Center and the Main Hall through area rugs and "sound mitigation" materials, Horrell said.
"If you have this much furniture and that many people in there, it can get pretty loud," Horrell said.
Although administrators considered placing a door between the News Center and the current Periodicals Room, "it might be a problem in terms of fire codes and egress from the space," which are a priority for student safety, according to Horrell.
Horrell said the individuals involved in the renovations have worked to preserve the "grand" feeling of the Main Hall, which will include "welcoming" seating and lighting.
"It is currently a big empty cavernous space, rather sterile, cold and forbidding and underused," chair of the Council on the Libraries and economics professor Douglas Irwin said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "The architect's designs looked beautiful, with comfortable leather couches, more lighting, which will make it a very inviting place for people to relax, hang out and read."
The redesigned library may offer an opportunity to secure a new library endowment, Horrell said.
"Our hope is that once this is up and going, this might be possible for a naming opportunity," he said. "For the right kind of donor, it could be very intriguing."
Library staff members interviewed by The Dartmouth said the commotion from construction was expected and has not been a large disruption.
Yana Ernazarova '12 who works at the information desk and has been moved to a less-visible location as a result of the construction said she is undisturbed by the construction work, but that her job has become more difficult.
"If people go through [the detectors] and beep, they just walk away, where I would otherwise have been able to stop them," she said. "And usually I'd be the first person [who] see when they walk in, especially if they're visitors."
Ernazarova said various students have expressed confusion about the construction's purpose.
"People are not really aware of what's going on," she said. "I don't think they inform [students] well."
Students and faculty members have been involved in the redesign process over the past year through the Dartmouth Student Advisors on Libraries and Computing and the Council on the Libraries, The Dartmouth previously reported.
After receiving the "go-ahead" late last year, College officials proceeded with planning the renovations and quickly as possible, Horrell said.
Crews have begun to replace "very old" lighting fixtures and remove molding around the perimeter of the Main Hall so they can replace electrical wires, some of which date to the building's construction in the 1920s, Horrell said.
"Currently there are outlets with two plugs," he said. "Each of those is going to be replaced by an outlet with six plugs, so that students can plug in all of their gadgets and not cause an electrical outage or fire or something awful."
Increasing access to electricity will also allow workers to install new equipment that will enhance wireless Internet access, he said.
Library administrators have also worked closely with conservators from the Hood Museum of Art during the construction process to ensure the preservation of the Orozco murals which are located directly below the News Center according to Horrell.
"They will be installing vibration equipment which will be monitored 24 hours a day," Horrell said. "If vibration is any greater than international standards, people will be notified immediately."
