Science library to lose a floor
Published: April 3, 2009Section: Front Page
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
The Genetics Counseling Program currently occupies the Kalman science building, which will be torn down as part of the science complex construction project.
According to Provost Marty Krauss, “The facility will continue to offer access to science materials, study space, computer[s], and seminar rooms.”
Krauss explained that the reorganization of the Gerstenzang Library was created as part of the LTS “Master Plan” in 2006 that detailed the future of LTS facilities. As part of the plan, library services would place more importance on online resources. One example of a change, according to Krauss, was the reorganization of the Goldfarb Library to include an Information Commons.
“The plan recognized changes in library services, including greater reliance on digital resources delivered online,” Krauss wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot. “The master plan defines the most efficient and effective use of LTS facilities in anticipation of smaller print collections.”
When asked about student input into the process, Krauss also explained that in 2006, “The LTS Master Plan was created with input from faculty, students, and staff. … Faculty leaders in the sciences were also consulted during the early planning stages of the process.”
The science library does employ students at the info desk on its upper level, however, there has been no discussion of cutting back student jobs.
President Jehuda Reinharz told The Hoot that the decision to use parts of the library for the Genetics Counseling Program was made after careful analysis of the use of the library. “The times I’ve gone though, very few” students have been in the library, he said.
He later added, “It’s just not a great use of that space.”
