Starting January 1, 2022, you may also upgrade your Semester Permit to an Annual Individual Permit for Spring and Summer 2022 and keep your current lot/deck assignment.
If you miss the renewal period, you may purchase Semester Permits in The Driver’s Seat starting Saturday, January 1, 2022. Purchases after January 1 will be based on lot/deck availability only. The last day to purchase a Spring Permit is Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Note:
For more information about the Annual Individual and Semester Permit programs, please visit this link: http://pts.gatech.edu/permits.
]]>The tower, closed for renovations since January 2016, features eight stories of archives, classroom, study, and studio space for Tech’s students, faculty, and staff. Included are spaces and technology for data visualization, high-performance computing, multimedia studies, collaboration, and iterative design.
“Tech’s dream of a Library designed for inspiring future scholarship and learning is finally coming true,” said Dean of Libraries Catherine Murray-Rust.
Over the last 36 months, crews removed the brick façade of Crosland Tower, built in 1968 to house a rapidly growing collection of books. Originally, the building was meant to keep out sunlight harmful to the books, housing stacks on seven-foot high, reinforced floors.
In its new iteration, Crosland Tower boasts loads of natural light and soaring, multi-floor atriums mirroring the midcentury modern architecture of Price Gilbert Memorial Library, now under renovation until 2020.
When complete, both buildings will more than double seating capacity while cutting energy consumption by nearly 60 percent.
The opening follows a complete overhaul of the Library’s collections and business model. In 2016, nearly all of the million-volume physical collection was moved into preservation-quality storage at the Library Service Center, a $26-million facility built through a public-private partnership with Emory University. Students and faculty now request materials online for delivery the next day.
The Library has also adopted a number of concepts from outside of higher education, including supply-chain logistics and customer-focused retail models, in its commitment to research and learning excellence.
The ultimate goal? To become the model research library of the 21st century — connected, responsive to sea changes in academic needs, and dedicated to the stewardship of analog information in a digital age.
In conjunction with reopening Crosland Tower, the Library launched a new website this week.
For more information about the ongoing transformation, visit library.gatech.edu or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
]]>jason.wright@library.gatech.edu
404-861-9271
]]>The mobile-first site features a simplified, user-focused design, a single super search of the books, media, articles, journals and the site itself, 24-hour chat functionality and streamlined access to the world-class expertise and resources of the Georgia Tech Library. It is also the first site to conform the Institute’s new web design guidelines.
The site, more than a year in the making with partners Mediacurrent, completes phase one of the Library’s digital transformation -- part of the ambitious Library Next program.
“With a physical presence as beautiful and functional as Crosland Tower, we knew we needed a digital companion that was as good, if not better, at delivering service,” said Heather Jeffcoat, Technology Program Manager and Web Services Librarian. “While we’re only at phase one of this digital transformation, I believe we’re well on our way to fulfilling this promise.”
The site overhaul comes just four days after the Library opened its doors in the refurbished Crosland Tower. The tower, closed for renovations since January 2016, features eight stories of archives, classroom, study, and studio space for Tech’s student and faculty. Included are spaces and technology for data visualization, high-performance computing, multimedia services, collaboration, and iterative design.
The new site and building reflect a complete overhaul of the Library’s collections and business model. In 2016, nearly all of the million-volume physical collection was moved into preservation quality storage at the Library Service Center, a $26-million facility built through a public-private partnership with Emory University. Students and faculty now request the materials online for delivery the next day.
The ultimate goal? To become the model research library of the 21st century -- connected, responsive to sea changes in student and faculty academic needs and dedicated to the stewardship of analog information in a digital age.
For more information on this incredible transformation, visit library.gatech.edu or join our conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
]]>jason.wright@library.gatech.edu
404-861-9271
]]>Price Gilbert, the portion of the Library that has welcomed campus since 1953, will close for renovation on Friday, Dec. 14. Its sister building next door, Crosland Tower, will reopen after three years of closure and will be the new Library home for campus starting Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, at 8 a.m.
The Library, currently located in Price Gilbert, will be open 24/7 during final exams. From Dec. 14 to Jan. 6, 2019, Library employees will work out of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, with employees available at the second floor Core Desk from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Users will be able to request gadgets and return materials at this desk.
Requests for library materials will continue to be made through the Library’s website, and delivery will continue from the Library Service Center through the transition. Users might experience delays or service interruptions due to a software upgrade scheduled to take place Dec. 14–17.
The switch from Price Gilbert to Crosland marks the last phase of the Library Next project, a five-year transition that has seen the renovation of one building, opening of the Library Service Center with Emory University, and reimagination of how the Library uses its space and serves its users.
The project is scheduled to be complete in 2020, with the reopening of Price Gilbert and new connectivity between the two buildings. Learn more about the project at librarynext.gatech.edu.
]]>Library
]]>The Library renewal project has been years in the making, but construction has finally heated up in the area and work is becoming visible to all of campus. The Library recently hosted a town hall to share updates with the campus community on progress and details of programming and design inside the space.
Representatives from the design teams as well as Library staff provided updates and answered audience questions. A live-stream of the presentation is archived at c.gatech.edu/librarytownhall.
The Library also recently took drone footage of the area in its current state. See aerial views of the construction at: c.gatech.edu/librarydrone.
Linda Daniels, architect in Capital Planning and Space Management, opened the presentation with a historical look at libraries at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech’s first library was a collection of books on a professor’s shelf in Tech Tower. Early drawings of Tech Tower call the library area a “drawing studio,” as that was its main purpose prior to housing books.
The Carnegie Building was Tech’s first library building, built in 1907. It was replaced by Price Gilbert in the 1960s and Crosland Tower in 1968.
When planning for a replacement for the Carnegie Library, which had outgrown its capacity by the 1940s, it was proposed to demolish Tech Tower and put a new library on its site. That plan was ultimately revised, but the site was still chosen to make the library central, easily accessible, and able to expand.
Brian Tanner of Praxis 3, the Atlanta-based part of the architecture team, gave an overview of building design and features.
Overall, the interior design is driven by the need to host people instead of books.
Tanner noted that some of the most visible change will happen at the existing ground level, which will now have a grove on the side facing Fourth Street. The goal in that area is to create more connection between the two Library buildings.
The first and second levels will resemble their existing state in that the large reading room with overlooking balconies will remain. The third floor will house more digital space and labs for audio, video, computing, and visualization. The fourth floor, and highest floor in the Price Gilbert building, will also keep its balconies overlooking the main reading room. The fifth floor will host most of the faculty and staff space in the building.
As is the case now, the Library is designed to get quieter as floors ascend. The sixth floor will have an emphasis on graduate students.
“Clough Commons is primarily an undergraduate-based facility connected to the Library complex,” Tanner said. “This floor is more oriented toward graduate students. It’s something the Library has really wanted to deliver.”
The seventh floor will offer skyline views from the north side, a reading room, meeting space, and roof terraces on either end. Spaces on this floor will mainly be dedicated to reading and quiet study, but can also be used for special events.
Catherine Murray-Rust, vice provost for learning excellence and dean of Libraries, emphasized the need to preserve quiet space in the facility.
“There’s a real need for people to work alone, together — to be engaged in academics, in a room full of people who are doing similar things, but to have the opportunity for quiet,” she said.
The area beneath the bridge connecting the two Library structures will be opened up to ease congestion. The main entrance of the complex will move to the Fourth Street side near the Hinman Research Building. The rotunda at the existing main entrance will be removed to harken back to the original architecture of the building.
A space on the east side of the new main entrance is called the “screened porch.” Tanner likened it to the exterior space at Dancing Goats at Ponce City Market, a coffee shop that features an outdoor seating area with partial glass enclosure.
Both the north and south facades of the Tower will be opened up with glass, but because the south façade of the building is exposed to more harmful rays of sun, the design incorporates sun shades that protect the exterior and reflect daylight into the space.
A new set of stairs will take visitors from the entrance at ground level to the existing plaza level. The design evokes the riser stairs that ascend from the first to second floor of Clough Commons.
Though many of the Library’s books have already been transported to the Library Service Center, the collection remaining will now be housed on shelves that will be turned 90 degrees from the way they currently face, showcasing the books and providing easier access.
A space on the second floor will offer a conference center space for events that are scholarship-based but not necessarily tied to a specific discipline, such as lectures, seminars, poster session displays, or dissertation defenses.
“The space is intended to celebrate academics and provide something we don’t think is available elsewhere on campus without charging rent,” Murray-Rust said. The space will be equipped with audiovisual and livestreaming equipment and integrated into existing Library resources to provide archiving.
Seating capacity in the entire complex will increase from an existing 1,250 to 2,360.
“We’re nearly doubling the number of people that can use the library, at the same time reducing the energy use by 60 percent,” said Tanner. “It’s a pretty remarkable story for energy efficiency.”
The new Library will also have two instructional spaces available for campus use, as well as additional elevators, exit stairs on each end, inclusive restrooms, and a locker room with shower.
Phase one of construction is underway, which is expected to conclude in fall 2018. At that point, the Tower portion of the Library will reopen, and the Price Gilbert building will close for construction through early 2020. The hope is to use the winter break of 2018 to reoccupy the Tower and close Price Gilbert.
Given that Price Gilbert provides connectivity for campus between Clough Commons and the Library complex, the second phase of construction will likely cause more inconvenience to campus. The main construction entrance is anticipated to remain on Fourth Street to minimize that part of the impact to the campus community.
Learn more about the full scope of the project at librarynext.gatech.edu.
]]>Construction is expected to finish in fall 2018, at which time the tower portion of the project will reopen and function as the main library while Price Gilbert undergoes its renovation. The entire Library renewal project is scheduled to be completed and fully open in early 2020.
This month, construction fencing will be in place for the safety of the Georgia Tech community, and wayfinding signage will be installed at appropriate locations around the construction site.
Major impacts will include the elimination of the pedestrian route between Bobby Dodd Way/Cherry Street and Fourth Street that passes between the library buildings. In addition, the alleyway between Hinman Courtyard and Bobby Dodd Way that passes between the library and the Old Civil Engineering Building will be blocked off.
The Library Next renewal project embraces a user-centric approach with the goal of delivering state-of-the-art physical and digital spaces for students, faculty, and staff.
Once complete, the Georgia Tech community will enjoy more collaborative spaces and enhanced digital experiences, with tools enabling the revolutionary scholarship of tomorrow.
Learn more about the full scope of the project and what to expect at librarynext.gatech.edu.
]]>Jason Wright
Communications Manager
Georgia Institute of Technology Library
This is exactly the challenge that was being faced by the staff of Georgia Tech’s library in the spring of 2016. Tech’s Crosland Tower and Price Gilbert libraries were scheduled to be closed in December 2015 for renovation to make the libraries’ physical space more user-friendly, rather than centered around housing the library’s material collection. In the last 10 years, visits to the libraries have increased by 50 percent, while check-out of print materials has dropped 75 percent in the same time period. Ninety-five percent of the library’s holdings were moved to the new EmTech Library Service Center (LSC).
The LSC is a high-density storage facility – there are about 40-50 similar high-density library storage facilities around the country – designed to permanently house Tech’s library materials, along with most of Emory University’s. The LSC is located on Emory’s Briarcliff campus, where materials are stored on 32-foot-high shelves at a temperature of 55 degrees with 30 percent humidity to preserve the life of the collected materials for up to 250 years.
Because of scheduling issues, Tech needed to get its materials into the LSC in the span of a few months. This was the ingest process, part of which included what Kimberly Mull, Director of Security, Facilities, and Logistics for the Tech libraries, called “deduping” — removing duplicated book titles, journal runs, and other materials that Tech shared with Emory’s library.
Ingestion also involved processing each individual piece of material, vacuuming it prior to storage, and giving everything a barcode so books and materials can be located by order pickers within the LSC.
Because the ingestion and set-up process of the LSC was essentially a warehousing project, Catherine Murray-Rust, Dean of Libraries & Vice Provost for Academic Effectiveness at Georgia Tech, knew that this was an area where industrial engineers could play a role. She thought the LSC ingestion process would make a good ISyE Senior Design project.
“If we had some IEs look at the process, then they could bring some warehousing strategies that the library community doesn’t really understand very well and apply them,” said Murray-Rust. “It seemed a really wonderful opportunity to give back to [the library community] from something on the other side of our lives, which is the engineering perspective.”
So that’s where the Senior Design team — Taylor Cormier, Sagar Govil, Ansley Hobbs, Jung Ha Lee, Trisha Long, Sinan Najm, and Andrea Norris (advised by Andrea Laliberte, Edenfield Executive in Residence and Professor of the Practice) — from ISyE stepped in.
“We were looking for a project we were excited about, and [we liked] the idea of having this project so close to campus and involved with Georgia Tech,” said team member Trisha Long. “It’s a really unique project, and we couldn’t have picked a better one.”
The team worked closely with Mull and Jay Forrest, a reference and subject librarian from Tech who was heavily involved with the ingestion process, on developing a plan to make the move from Tech go as smoothly as possible.
Initially, the team visited several other high-density storage sites, including at the University of Georgia and the research facility shared by Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Then the team came back and looked at EmTech’s LSC. These visits gave the Senior Design team information about the kinds of questions they needed to ask about EmTech’s ingestion process, while considering such constraints such as budget, safety concerns, and how much equipment needed to be purchased for the move.
“Our main constraint was trying to reduce the budget as much as possible within the safety constraints, and [visits to the other high-density facilities] helped us picture how much equipment the library would want to keep [after the move],” explained Long. “We wouldn’t want to buy lots of equipment and have it not be useful, so we tried to take into consideration what they would use – such as how many carts and how many vacuums would keep the collection alive for the next few years.
“After those trips, we were totally inspired. We were able to create a flow-process model that gave us two different ways to make decisions: Is it the fastest way and is it the cheapest way and go back and forth between the two models, and narrow down what our final recommendations were.”
The team came up with several suggestions that positively impacted the ingestion process. One, said Forrest, involved the use of gravity conveyor belt rollers in the processing line: “Prior to using gravity rollers, we were probably processing 12,000 books per day per average for about a month. We identified a source for gravity rollers, brought them in, and implemented them. That helped us get to 15,500 books per day on average. So that one change improved our throughput quite a bit.”
Perhaps most importantly, the team’s flow-process model and long-term projections confirmed that the library could hire a moving company at several hundred thousand dollars below the projected budget. “We went from one vendor that was over our initial budget to one vendor that was quite a bit under our initial budget,” explained Forrest. “This resulted in cost-savings to both Emory and Tech.”
Now that Georgia Tech’s library collection is safely moved and stored at the LSC, Mull praised the Senior Design team’s role in the success of the move: “I think it was a good collaboration. We see students all the time in the library, but to actually work with them had a good result. We incorporated around 90 percent of the team’s suggestions, and I would love to do another project with another Senior Design team. It left a really good imprint on the library.”
When asked how it made her feel to hear about the positive results of her team’s hard work, Long said, “From the beginning my team was excited to work with the school. The project let us learn so much about our library, and we walked away feeling even more connected to Tech."
]]>This is exactly the challenge that was being faced by the staff of Georgia Tech’s library in the spring of 2016. A Senior Design team from ISyE stepped in to help with the process.
]]>Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering
404.385.4745
]]>The LSC, located at Emory's Briarcliff Road property, is a secure, 55,000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility that employs state-of-the-art equipment and technology to house both special and general library collections, provide free access to them, and ensure cost-effective, long-term preservation of the materials.
“The new Library Service Center is a shining example of the long and productive public-private partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech," says G.P. "Bud" Peterson, president of Georgia Tech. "Our complementary strengths produce powerful synergies. Our collaborations exist because both institutions believe great things happen when we work together to tackle big challenges."
"The LSC represents an important new chapter in the public-private partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech," says Emory President James Wagner.
More than 15 years ago, the two universities established EmTech, at that time a biotechnology business incubation initiative to provide infrastructure for biotech start-ups.
"But our collaborations are broad, deep and multiple, growing largely out of the ways in which our institutions complement each other, says Wagner. "EmTech now is the working name under which the LSC is now incorporated."
Each institution contributed equally to the facility's construction and will continue equal support for operations funding.
Currently, the LSC houses approximately 95 percent of Georgia Tech’s collections and a portion of Emory collections. Once ingest is complete in the summer of 2016 the archive module will house more than 2 million volumes. The module is capable of holding 4 million volume equivalents, and the facility can accommodate another module of the same size, meaning that it may be possible for additional partners to join Emory and Georgia Tech.
"By working together to establish the LSC, both institutions now have access to a broader range of library materials, stored in optimal physical conditions and at a lower cost," says Rich Mendola, enterprise chief information officer and senior vice provost for library services and digital scholarship at Emory.
Only about 17 percent of Georgia Tech's and Emory's collections overlap, which means that "together we have an exceptional collection that benefits both campuses," says Yolanda Cooper, university librarian at Emory. "Our goal is to leverage the services we can provide across both institutions, enhancing our ability to meet the changing needs of users and to develop new resources and tools for use in research, teaching and learning."
"In addition to making progress on the big dream of the shared collection available to all at both institutions, the Emory-Georgia Tech collaboration creates a new model of partnership between research libraries that we hope will encourage our library colleagues to improve access to collections and services through deeper collaborations of their own," says Catherine Murray-Rust, vice provost for learning excellence and dean of libraries at Georgia Tech.
Features of the Library Service Center include:
A recent review of the project status revealed that more time is needed for work to be completed in the areas of building preparation and remediation. This time will also provide an opportunity to raise additional private funds to supplement the state’s investment.
President G.P. “Bud” Peterson stated that, following these additional preparations, Georgia Tech plans to resubmit the project for funding in fiscal year 2018.
The renovation project is part of Tech’s Library Renewal Project, which re-envisions the role and design of a 21st century university library. The long-term project began in 2015 and progressed last month with the opening of the Joint Library Service Center with Emory University. The center is located near the Emory campus and has daily deliveries to Georgia Tech to fulfill requests for books and materials from the campus community.
The Georgia Tech Library also recently launched a new search system for all of its print and online materials. PRIMO serves as a single search access point to all of Tech’s scholarly content.
Learn more about the Library Renewal Project at renewal.library.gatech.edu.
]]>As a result, a new search interface is now available for the Tech community to view and request materials. PRIMO from Ex Libris is an all-encompassing, user-friendly catalog and discovery system.
The single search interface is the gateway to Tech’s wealth of scholarly content, including print, electronic, and digital collections. The intuitive search and ranking algorithm provides relevant results based on the context of a search and allows for discovery and exploration with both “virtual browsing” and “browse search” features.
PRIMO also provides access to all online resources with in-context request options for print materials. Delivery of print materials to the Library and faculty offices is scheduled online in PRIMO, via the “Request for pick-up or office delivery” option.
The PRIMO migration gives Georgia Tech users access to the integrated Emory University collection housed off-site at the Library Service Center. The rest of the University System of Georgia will join Tech in PRIMO migration in 2017.
The Library maintains 24/7 operations during the Renewal project. Study spaces, computer resources, expertise, and a core collection of print materials will continue to be available as well. Learn more at renewal.library.gatech.edu.
]]>This change will remain in place until 2017, when the system will join Georgia Tech and partner Emory University in their move to an updated library management system and discovery platform. During this time the Library remains committed to delivering books from our loan partners as quickly as possible.
GIL Express items on loan will need to be returned by December 1 and cannot be renewed. In addition Georgia Tech faculty, staff and students may still travel to any of the libraries in the University System to borrow directly with their BuzzCard.
For more information on the Library’s Renewal Project, visit renewal.library.gatech.edu.
]]>“We are moving away from concentrating on housing the physical collections to providing innovative services and inspirational spaces and services for new generations of faculty and students,” said Catherine Murray-Rust, Vice Provost for Learning Excellence and Dean of Libraries.
The Library Renewal project, which kicked off mid-November, aims to define the 21st century technological research library. It calls for a reimagining of all aspects of the library’s role on campus, from research services to its collections.
“Research libraries across the globe are undergoing transitions similar to what we’re preparing for here at Tech,” said Murray-Rust. “Changes in pedagogy, learning styles, and scholarly publishing allow us the freedom to re-imagine the way we deliver library services and support research.”
Although the project is still in its infancy, several aspects are already set in motion. The Board of Regents recently approved $1.7 million in design funds to renew the Price Gilbert Memorial & Crosland Library towers. The Institute is also contributing $2.3 million in design funds. By the end of the semester, an architectural firm will be selected to begin design-planning work.
Plans are underway to begin moving the majority of the print collection to an off-site facility shared with Emory University Libraries. The facility, known as the EmTech Library Service Center (LSC), will be a Harvard-style, high-density building designed to ensure the long-term storage of paper and microfilm.
The LSC will be located on Emory’s Briarcliff campus. Transforming the Library towers enables the creation of a shared collection available to students and faculty of both institutions, which is a goal of the Emory-Tech partnership.
In recent years, the print collection has experienced a precipitous decline in usage, while visits to the physical facility and uses of the electronic collection have risen substantially. Visits to the Library increased from 572,769 in FY2002 to 1,358,387 in FY2013, a 137% increase.
“We’re seeing a higher gate count than ever before, but the vast majority of the print collection is under utilized and taking up valuable space at the center of campus. Once collections are relocated, there will be a singular opportunity to redefine the role of a research library away from a repository of print materials to one of providing ubiquitous and unique research services. We are looking to campus for ideas on innovative ways to help us redefine the research library for the 21st century,” said Ameet Doshi, User Experience Librarian.
In an effort to ensure the print collection remains accessible to users, the Library will design new service models to rapidly retrieve material from the LSC.
Potential service model ideas include:
The next phase of the Renewal project includes engaging students and faculty to gather insight on how the library can best support research, teaching and learning in the future. The Library is partnering with Brightspot Strategy, a user-centered design consultancy, to assist with user research and support the creation of a shared vision to inform the architectural design and programming.
Starting today, library users can learn about the details of the Library Renewal project at renewal.library.gatech.edu. They are also invited to contribute feedback and new ideas to help shape the future of the Georgia Tech Library.
“Our spaces and service models should evolve to match the needs of the students and faculty at Tech,” said Murray-Rust. “We don’t want to recreate the Clough Commons; we want to do something different. Our goal is to ensure we’re serving Georgia Tech researchers, scholars and students to the best of our ability by continuing to challenge ourselves.”
]]>Through 2018, the Tower will undergo extensive renovations to transform the building by adding additional electrical infrastructure, renewing building systems, and creating inspiring new spaces to support learning at the heart of campus.
Price Gilbert will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the construction. Once construction on the Tower completes, the Price Gilbert building will close for renovation through 2020.
]]>At the education innovation event on Oct. 20, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Rafael L. Bras announced the launch of the Creating the Next in Education Task Force, a group that will dedicate itself to continuing Tech’s pursuit of cutting-edge innovation in education.
Bras also discussed the reorganization of the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U) that will bring that group under the Provost’s Office.
Rich DeMillo, director of C21U, talked about the upcoming Learning Management System pilot to support classroom instruction and collaborative work. The faculty-led project will evaluate three different systems for use on campus, in addition to the T-Square system already in place.
The Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Professional Education, and Office of Information Technology also participated in the event.
The Oct. 22 event discussed the five-year project that is already underway, as the Georgia Tech and Emory University Joint Library Service Center (LSC) is scheduled to open in January 2016. Print collections will be moved to the joint LSC beginning in spring 2016. At the end of December, Crosland Tower will close to the public, with construction on this portion of the project beginning in summer 2016. Crosland is expected to be completed in 2018, at which point Price Gilbert will be cleared out for construction. The full complex is expected to reopen at that time. The phased approach will ensure that one of the two library buildings is in operation throughout the duration of the project.
One new physical element of the renovation will be a Library Store, which will function as the face of the Library. A teaching studio will give faculty and graduate students who teach an opportunity to try new teaching methods and technology, as well as learn new software and hardware features of classroom technology before the first day of class.
An enhanced and expanded digital media center will have experts available to facilitate
the use of new technologies and tools used for scholarship and research. An innovation and ideation studio will provide a kind of digital maker space for students to pursue their projects and develop designs.
A scholar’s event network will be housed in what was the original front door lobby of Price Gilbert. This will feature a large space for presentations, such as dissertation defense and small meetings, as well as breakout rooms and exhibit space. Finally, a collections showcase will feature unique materials from the Library’s own collections as well as ongoing research at Georgia Tech and materials on loan.
When complete, the Library Renewal Project is expected to double seating space and reduce energy use by 60 percent. The vision is that the Library and Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons will function as an integrated complex.
With the opening of the LSC, both Emory and Georgia Tech will immediately benefit from increased access to each other’s collections. Eventually, the goal is for both to have full access to the other’s collections, both in the LSC and on each others’ main campuses. The collaboration is ideal for both sides, as the collections only overlap by about 17 percent.
“Libraries began as places to talk, think, and motivate each other,” Bras said. “To an extent, it feels like we’re coming full circle.”
Presentation materials from both town halls are available at www.provost.gatech.edu.
]]>Scheduled for 11 a.m. in Room 152, Clough Commons, the town hall will discuss the phased approach for the forthcoming renovation and renewal of Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower.
The guiding vision of the renovation is to reimagine the library of the 21st century, enabling Georgia Tech students and faculty to explore the past and design the future by bringing together inspirational spaces, curated content, expert guidance and scholarly communities. Once completed, the renovation doubles current seating capacity, includes virtual browsing and collaborations with Emory University, and will feature a host of new user-centric features for students and faculty including a library store, faculty reading room, teaching and innovation studios, project rooms and collections showcases, among others.
“The library renewal project is so much more than just a renovation of physical space,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Rather, this undertaking is truly an innovation on the idea of what a library can and should be for the students of the 21st century as they interact with scholarly resources, technology and each other.”
Use of the Georgia Tech Library and its collection has changed over time. Specifically, physical checkouts of print books have decreased dramatically. Instead, a growing majority of students utilize the secure e-resources and full-text articles licensed and made available by the Georgia Tech Library. Notably, visits to the library and usage of electronic resources are at an all-time high.
Because of that growing trend and preservation concerns for the Library’s collection, Georgia Tech and Emory University have partnered to jointly construct and operate a climate-controlled facility called the Library Service Center (LSC), which will house 95 percent of Georgia Tech’s paper and microform collections. Although offsite, users will have the ability to reserve material online and retrieve it from the LSC quickly and easily. Students and faculty will continue to have the ability to pick up books at the Library, but may also access the books directly at the LSC.
Having easier access to Emory University’s collection will grant Georgia Tech users greater access to resources, particularly in the humanities, social sciences, and medical areas. With growing partnerships in various academic disciplines, a combined Library collection between Georgia Tech and Emory will have important implications on current and future collaborations.
“Creating a research library for this century means building on the tradition of libraries as places in which the scholarship of the present and the future is created in the presence of the scholarship of the past,” said Murray-Rust. “We in the library are grateful to the Institute's leadership and the Board of Regents for the opportunity to renew the buildings and for support for the collaboration with Emory University. Together these initiatives challenge us to enhance research and teaching in the online and the physical libraries in ways we have only begun to imagine.”
The renovations will impact the way students interface with their library service, access information and interact in the physical space. Moving the collection makes way for more innovation and study space for students and dedicated faculty space. The renovations have sustainability implications as well as energy usage will be reduced by 60 percent.
Any interested faculty, students or staff are invited to submit questions in advance of the meeting via email to provostsoffice@mail.gatech.edu. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the meeting.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Office of the Provost will also host Help Transform Georgia Tech’s Educational Landscape: A Town Hall on the Educational Innovation Ecosystem. Scheduled for 11 a.m. in Room 1443, Klaus Advanced Computing Building, the town hall will discuss a new, unified initiative between Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE), Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to grow, support, and expand the educational experience at Georgia Tech.
]]>Institute Communications
404-385-3782
]]>On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Office of the Provost will host “Help Transform Georgia Tech’s Educational Landscape: A Town Hall on the Educational Innovation Ecosystem” at 11 a.m. in Room 1443, Klaus Advanced Computing Building. The town hall will discuss a new, unified initiative between the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Professional Education, and the Office of Information Technology.
Forthcoming initiatives include opportunities to participate in a new Learning Management System pilot, a call for applications in response to the latest Massive Open Online Course Request for Proposals, the latest opportunities from the Georgia Tech Fund for Innovation in Research and Education (GT-FIRE), and next steps in the Learning Analytics initiative.
Included in the streamlining efforts is the reorganization of C21U, moving the unit from the College of Computing to the Office of the Provost. The Office of Educational Technology will also be moved under C21U. The move to the Office of the Provost will allow C21U to serve as an advisory unit, as well as provide flexibility and analysis unrelated to any particular student type or academic discipline.
On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Office of the Provost will host a town hall on the “Reimagination and Renewal of the Georgia Tech Library.” This event will take place at 11 a.m. in Room 152, Clough Commons, and will discuss the phased approach for the Price Gilbert and Crosland Tower renovations.
The guiding vision of the renovation is to reimagine the library of the 21st century. Once completed, the renovation will double current seating capacity, include virtual browsing and collaborations with Emory University, and will feature a host of new user-centric features for students and faculty including a library store, faculty reading room, teaching and innovation studios, project rooms, and collections showcases.
Use of the Georgia Tech Library and its collection has changed over time. Specifically, physical checkouts of print books have decreased dramatically. Now, a growing number of students use secure e-resources and full-text articles. Notably, visits to the library and usage of electronic resources are at an all-time high. Read more about the project at www.renewal.library.gatech.edu.
Questions for either town hall may be submitted in advance to provostsoffice@mail.gatech.edu. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the events.
]]>The majority of collections currently in the Georgia Tech Library will move to the LSC, providing space for the Library Renewal Project, a multi-year plan to reimagine Tech’s library spaces and services for the 21st century. For Emory, the LSC will provide a single off-site location for consolidating materials already housed at other locations, and free up much-needed space in its main campus library.
Site preparation for the LSC, located at Emory's Briarcliff Road property, is underway, with building construction starting this fall and completion expected in fall 2015. The LSC will house high-density shelving designed to ensure the long-term preservation of and access to library collections.
"The LSC is another great example of the expanding partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech,” says Rich Mendola, enterprise chief information officer and senior vice provost for library services and digital scholarship at Emory. "By working together, both institutions will have access to a broader range of library materials, stored in optimal physical conditions and at a lower unit cost."
"We are very excited about the opportunities afforded through this partnership with Georgia Tech," says Yolanda Cooper, university librarian at Emory. "Together, our complementary resources create an exceptional shared collection to benefit both campus communities. The center will enhance our ability to provide active spaces to accommodate the changing needs of our users, enabling the development of unique services, resources and tools relevant to new developments in research, teaching and learning."
The ultimate goal of the LSC partnership is to create a seamless collection with all Georgia Tech and Emory resources (eventually including electronic resources, where possible) available to students, faculty and staff in both institutions, according to Catherine Murray-Rust, vice provost for learning excellence and dean of libraries at Georgia Tech. The intent is to collaboratively manage a single collection while providing the best possible service and access to materials with a focus on user needs, she says.
"By relocating the collection to the LSC, we're able to maximize the utilization of campus space and transform the Georgia Tech Library into an inspiring place for people to create their best scholarly work," says Murray-Rust.
Features of the Library Service Center include:
In early January, the Board of Regents selected LP3, an Atlanta-based multidisciplinary design firm, and BNIM, a Kansas-based designer of high-performance environments, to create a cohesive design solution for the Library Renewal Project.
“We’re excited to see what innovative solutions come from this partnership,” said Catherine Murray-Rust, vice provost for Learning Excellence and dean of Libraries. “Both firms have experience with mid-century buildings and bring distinctive strengths to the Library Renewal Project.”
LP3’s portfolio features major projects ranging from mixed-use to educational. Throughout their work, LP3 maintains a commitment to sustainable and energy efficient design. They are noted for transforming the Office of Georgia Tech’s Robotics and Intelligent Machines Programs into a space that facilitates greater interaction and cross-pollination.
BNIM’s approach to architecture and design integrates living environments in a way that leads to vital and healthy organizations and communities.
Construction is tentatively set to begin in 2015. Until then, both firms are collaborating with Library staff to integrate feedback from campus stakeholders into the overall building design.
For updates, details, and to share your ideas about the Library Renewal Project, visit
renewal.library.gatech.edu.