Campus & Community

Syracuse University to build Library facility on South Campus

Wednesday, May 25, 2011, By Pamela Whiteley McLaughlin

The Syracuse University Board of Trustees recently approved the Library’s plan to construct the South Campus Library Facility (SCLF), a high-density storage facility to be located adjacent to the Hawkins Building on Jamesville Avenue. The design-development phase of the project will begin immediately, with construction expected to be completed in 2012.

The 20,000 square-foot building will house approximately 1.6 million volumes and will include a processing area and conference room. The Library will use the facility to house low-use materials, including books, microforms, special collections and older volumes of journals. Deliveries of materials to the campus will take place daily. A constantly maintained ideal environment of controlled heat/humidity (50 degrees Fahrenheit and 35 percent relative humidity) will significantly extend the life of materials in the facility. Most importantly, this facility will enable the Library to support the long-term research needs of the faculty by providing space for collections growth.

There are more than 50 facilities of this type throughout the nation, including those in operation at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Indiana, Princeton, Wake Forest and Yale universities, as well as the University of Illinois, University of Michigan and the University of California.

“We are all thrilled that the campus will move ahead to build this critical facility. Special thanks to the faculty and students who advocated for additional library shelving capacity and to the chancellor and provost for supporting the Library,” says Suzanne Thorin, dean of the Library and University Librarian.

The Library reached full capacity for housing collections several years ago and has already moved some materials to the Hawkins Building and to The Warehouse downtown. Stacks in Bird Library are 98 percent full and ancillary shelving space in Hawkins and The Warehouse has reached full capacity. Collections housed in these locations will be consolidated in the new facility upon its completion.

For more information on this project, contact TC Carrier at 443-8456 or tecarrie@syr.edu.