ROBERT W. WOODRUFF LIBRARY BUILDING MASTER PLAN

On March 30, 2005 Robert W. Woodruff Library began a 3 month activity to develop a conceptual program statement, a Master Plan, for renovation of the library building. The Master Plan will provide an assessment of the existing building and make recommendations for renovation of the interior spaces. The Plan will also provide renovation project costs for fundraising purposes. RWWL was designed and constructed by the Atlanta based firm, J.W. Robinson & Assoc., Inc. in 1982.

The Library has contracted with the firm, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott (SBRA), an international design practice that provides planning and design services to institutions of higher education. SBRA is nationally recognized for its expertise in creating distinctive campus environments. www.sbra.com.

Working with SBRA is a Building Task Force that includes 9 library staff, the Chair of the Library Advisory Committee and ex-officio member of the RWWL Library Board of DIrectors, the Executive Director of SOLINET, and a consultant with the Atlanta based Gellerstedt Group.

Why are we doing a Master Plan? The influence of technology, the change in information seeking behaviors of our students and faculty, the need to participate in the cultural change going on within higher education, and the chance to respond to the sociological and aesthetic preferences of the learning community we serve, all suggest an opportunity for RWWL to redefine how it is perceived and used. Most importantly, it is in keeping with our vision to reflect the excellence of our member institutions by being a “First Choice” for information.

Our work will include assessing current library services and departments and their space requirements, articulating changes in services that the library would like to make, determining the spatial implications and requirements for the future program, and the creation of planning diagrams to illustrate how the future program can be accommodated within the existing library. We will also look at ways to achieve this overall transformation in a series of discreet, phased projects.

Input will not be limited to the Task Force. Assessment of services and reactions to proposals will require communications with staff and key stakeholders. As a staff member, you may prepare yourself by thinking about the future of library services in the academic environment and the library as “place.” Consider the questions: What is the role of RWWLibrary when users can obtain information from almost anywhere? What does this role change mean for the design and use of library space? How can we work differently to deliver the needed information services and resources?

The Building Task Force will post documents and links to a folder called “Building Master Plan” on the library’s intranet, where you will find information related to this exciting project.

Please feel free to contact any member of the Task Force should you have questions or comments. Thank you.

Building Task Force Members:

1. Loretta Parham, Director & CEO
2. Larry Blumer - Chair, Library Advisory Committee, Ex-Officio RWWL Board Member
3. Kate Nevins - Executive Director, SOLINET
4. Dan Veach, Head Access & Technical Services
5. Carolyn Hart, Head Information & Research Services
6. Karen Jefferson, Head Archives & Special Collections
7. Robert Fallen, Head Information Technology
8. Michael Chromey, Humanities Librarian
9. James Jones, Acquisitions Librarian
10. Kenneth Chong, Team Leader Information Technology
11. Eric Miller, CFO (ex-officio)
12. Chuck Winsted, Principal, The Gellerstedt Group (ex-officio)

Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott Project Team

1. Jonathan Ross, SBRA Principal in Charge
2. Carole Wedge, SBRA Principal for Library Programming
3. Ralph Jackson, SBRA Principal for Design
4. Janette Blackburn, SBRA Project Manager

*Sampling of SBRA Library experience:

New School University, Planning Study
University of Chicago, Regenstein Library Master Plan
Johns Hopkins University, Eisenhower Library Master Plan
Dartmouth College, Baker/Berry Library Renovation
Yale University, Sterling Memorial Library
Wellesley College, Clapp Library
Harvard Medical School, Countway Library of Medicine