The Dunbar Library is slated to undergo some much-needed changes. Over the next nine to ten months, two separate projects have been planned for the library. One will modernize the furniture and the other will replace the now 21-year-old carpet. The improvements are scheduled for periods when class is out of session.
The furniture and carpet projects have budgets of $500,000 and $600,000, respectively. The library has decided to forgo any changes to the physical floor plan of the building in favor of purchasing new furniture, according to Sue Polanka, interim librarian.
The 2nd Floor group study area will be outfitted with new, modernized seating arrangements and the furniture will be rearranged to accommodate both group study and silent study.
In 2015, the library conducted a building use study. Student response questionnaires and traffic data were collected to study how the library is used and how students and members of the general public would like it to change to better meet their needs.
The building use study was “a primary tool for improvement plans,” Polanka said. The questionnaire asked students what makes a library ideal, to which the top response was quiet.
“Quiet is critical to studying and that response was overwhelming,” Polanka said.
Changes to the 2nd floor and plans to create new individual quiet study rooms move the library closer to becoming an ideal library for students, Polanka said.
"We learned a lot from that study," Polanka said. "We learned that people use the library in a variety of ways. Sometimes they might come in to borrow a book. Sometimes they come in to study by themselves. Sometimes in a group. Sometimes they come in just for coffee."
"When students responded to questions about preferences in the library they often started with ‘it depends on what I'm doing,’” Polanka said. It is the library’s plan to expand on the facility’s versatility.
"We haven't stopped at that study," Polanka said. The library is continuing to pursue student feedback, Polanka said.
Polanka plans to poll groups of students about potential furniture and different carpets. Email suggestions are also welcome. “The library is here for the students,” Polanka said. “It is here to bring students success.”
