It is 11 a.m. on April 30, 2007. The library is jam-packed with students trying to cram in the last bit of information before their afternoon final.
It is possibly the busiest and most popular time for students and staff members at the Marriott Library.
Suddenly, an earthquake hits.
While the ground moves beneath the library, however, not one column falls and crashes, not one student gets injured and not one book shifts out of place.
This scenario is what construction crews are working toward as planning and building continues on all sides and floors of the Marriott Library. Quake preparation is the crew’s top priority.
Brittany Brady, a senior in parks, recreation and tourism, also considers quake preparation important.
“I heard we’re on a big fault line. The more prepared we are for disaster, the better,” she said.
The Utah Office of Emergency Services cites new estimates that predict that a 7.0 earthquake with the capacity to cause a $40-billion impact could happen any time within the next 50 years.
Library construction crews and staff are prepared, though.
During the current update, which will finish by the end of 2008, new technical equipment is being integrated to the overhaul of the 1968 building.
Mechanical and electrical systems will be replaced, safety evacuation will be improved and the building’s layout has been planned so that it will be more easily maneuvered.
In case of a power outage, safety lights and other safety equipment will remain intact, said Ian Godfrey, facilities manager.
“There are also going to be 16 braces-four on each side-which will hold the building in place,” he said.
The $71-million project will also help reinforce student academics.
The Knowledge Commons, which will be an intensive technology center on the second floor, will feature student-computing areas with multiple tiers of information help desks.
“The most exciting part is going to be the number of service items available to students,” said Leslie Haas, head of general reference information.
“I’m thrilled about the way we’re going to bring in technology and research into the Knowledge Commons,” Haas said. “Combining those services will make it easier for students to get help, both from reference librarians as well as from computers.”
Speed will also be tremendously improved for student services.
Instead of walking from floor to floor, students will have to wait only five minutes to receive the books for which they are searching.
The Automated Retrieval Center will be a three-floor, 14,000 square-foot space in which four robots will browse through the 2.2 million items to find a requested book.
The ARC, which will be located on the west side of the library, will hold 60 percent of government documents, all bound periodicals and the original Dewey Collection.
“It’s going to be the place for one-stop shopping,” said Heidi Brett, public relations specialist for the Marriott Library.
The library, which began construction during June 2005, will also feature a cyber caf, special-collections reading and research rooms, a digital scholarship center, a graduate study area, 25 new group-study rooms and an electronic education center.
Eight “high-tech teaching classrooms” are being built on the first floor to meet the U’s demand for classroom space.
They will contain easy-to-move furniture, a state-of-the-art computing system and the capacity for multiple-screen projection.
Both Godfrey and Brett urge students to remain patient through the renovation process. “The hardest part has been the noise,” Haas said.
More information can be found at www.lib.utah.edu/construct.
Lennie Mahler