The Alvin Sherman Library will build eight new study rooms and additional seating on several floors. The renovation is planned to be finished over this summer, with the new and upgraded study rooms to be available for reservation starting in the fall.
James Hutchens, vice president for information services and university librarian at Alvin Sherman Library, said, “We have 25 study rooms in the [Alvin Sherman Library]. We started with 24 rooms then added an additional one in 2015 and we are going to add eight more after our renovation project finishes up this summer. So we’ll have a total of 33. What we are trying to do right now is to add technology to the study rooms by working with donors. [Donors] will endow the room, which means that they will sponsor the room and pay for the upgraded technology and in turn, receive naming rights for the rooms they sponsor,” said Hutchens.
The new rooms will be built on the second floor of the Alvin Sherman Library where the fixed stacks of academic journals are stored. The academic journals will be moved to automated shelves on the fourth floor of the library.
“We will be adding plasma screens which you can connect to wirelessly to each of these rooms.The two rooms that we just upgraded are 3039 and 3061. We just opened up these two rooms last week and students appear to be very receptive [of the rooms]. Everybody has been thrilled with the upgrade,” said Hutchens.
The donors for the rooms are part of the Alvin Sherman Library’s Circle of Friends and Board of Directors. According to Hutchens, the Circle of Friends is the library’s fundraising group and are spearheading these upgrades because of their love of the library and their understanding that this money will benefit all of the staff and students that use the study rooms, as well as the public.
After several surveys that the Alvin Sherman Library conducted, they found that students wanted more seating in the library. In response, the library will add 350 seats to the second and fourth floors of the library.
“The Sherman Library and its staff are in the business to have people coming through the doors, we want to make [the library] attractive. Our mission is to be the premier research, cultural and lifelong learning center for both NSU and the community. So we want to be that community hub and we want people to know us,” said Hutchens.
