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Hale Library Blog

Month: April 2020

Building Update: It’s all about the atmosphere

Posted on by Cailin Riley

Things in Hale Library are starting to lighten up! Many lights are being installed throughout the building and overall, things are definitely starting to come together. Work continues on Historic Farrell Library and along with the new, modern parts of the library, the spirit of Hale Library is starting to visually come alive.

Firstly though, we wanted to address that we’ve received questions regarding the reported collapse on the third floor of the library. We want to assure the community that there was no damage to the library structure. A small section of a stairwell was being in-filled with concrete to create additional floor space on the fourth floor and during the process, the form system became unstable and fell to the floor below.

That event aside, work continues in a very positive direction and we’re excited to share with you our latest photos from the building interior.

A picture of spacers being installed in the cafe flooring.
Joyce and Joe’s Cornerstone Café is coming along at a fast pace. The wooden ceiling has been completely painted black and they are working on installing the tile for the floor. The wooden counters for the café also arrived and are being installed.
A picture of a crew member installing tile in the cafe.
In the background, you can see the special purple soft lighting that is being installed near the ceiling in a few parts of the library. We love that royal purple!
A picture of the counters being installed in the cafe.
Crew members are currently working on the cafe counter area.

The scaffolding in the Great Room has been completely removed and workers are using lifts to install new lights throughout the ceiling. A few of the workmen mentioned they almost wish the scaffolding was still there, since the ceiling is so high! Now that the scaffolding is out of the way, the crew is also working on removing boards from the windows and repairing plaster along the walls.

A picture of the Great Room ceiling.
From the fourth floor balcony, you get a great view of the completed ceiling woodwork and the new lighting.
A picture of the empty Great Room, without scaffolding.
Now that the scaffolding has been removed, it’s easy to see the ceiling and get a sense of how much progress has been made.
A picture of a crew member in the Great Room using a lift.
A crew member uses a lift to reach the ceiling and install new lights.
A picture of crew members using a lift for plaster work.
Crew members have started to repair the plaster throughout the Great Room.

The new purple soft lighting can be seen in multiple spots near the ceiling around the second floor, including near the lobby area and printers, above the help desks and along a section of the study area. Some of the lighting will serve as a back light for lettering; for example, lettering above the help desks and on the first floor, behind lettering for the Dave & Ellie Everitt Learning Commons.

A picture of purple lighting above the IT and library help desks.
Soft purple lighting appears above the new library and IT help desks located centrally on the second floor.

We are extraordinary thankful to the Hutton team members for working hard to restore the library, and thrilled to be able to share frequent photo updates with the community. We want you to share the pride we have in this beautiful building!

Building Update: The work continues

Posted on by Cailin Riley

Campus might be especially quiet right now, but inside Hale Library, things are anything but quiet.

Right now, construction continues on the building, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the lack of patrons in the building has led to things moving faster than anticipated in some areas. Work on Joyce and Joe’s Cornerstone Cafe on the first floor is moving very rapidly, the second floor is completely finished and furnished, and very soon, the scaffolding in the Great Room will be completely removed, revealing a refurbished, beautifully restored wooden ceiling.

This is a picture of the West end of the Great Room.
The woodwork in the Great Room is finished and crews have started removing the scaffolding supporting the West end of the dance floor.
This is a picture of the Great Room and the mural boxes.
About a third of the scaffolding that supports the dance floor has been removed. To the right, you can see the constructed boxes built to cover and protect the four murals.
This is a picture of the lights on the Great Room ceiling.
New lights have been added to the flat portion of the ceiling at the West end of the Great Room.
This is a picture of the main lobby on the second floor of Hale Library.
New shelving is being built behind the library and IT help desks on the second floor. The help desks are centrally located and will be a one-stop shop for library visitors who have questions and need assistance.

The café on the first floor, which will be managed by K-State Housing and Dining Services, will provide a comfortable space for visitors to grab a coffee and meet with others. Construction crews have completed the fireplace and taken down the temporary walls; next, work will begin on the cooler and the kitchen itself. The café counter and the kitchen equipment will be installed later this month.

This is a picture of the cafe ceiling.
A fun fact about the grid work ceiling of the café: the wood is refurbished and repainted wood salvaged from the Hale Library. The wood was painted with four coats of grey paint—two coats by hand and two by spray so that they covered all the angles.

Our Libraries staff are also hard at work behind the scenes to provide students, staff and faculty with the academic resources they need while being away from campus. While people can’t access physical textbooks, journals and books right now, our interlibrary loan staff are busy filling requests by sending scanned articles and book chapters to patrons electronically. We are so grateful for our hardworking staff, and glad we have the ability to help our community access the information they need.

Things are hopping over at the K-State Libraries Annex, an offsite storage unit where many books and items are held.

This is a picture of Denny Ryan using a scissor lift.
Denny Ryan, Annex collection coordinator, uses a scissor lift to reach materials up high on the Annex shelves. Ryan will then scan the articles and book chapters requested by K-State faculty, staff and students.

During Spring Break and before campus moved to limited operations, our Library User Services team spent a day moving all the course reserves textbooks in the Student Union back into Hale Library.

This is a picture of people loading book carts onto a moving truck.
Movers and the Library User Services team loaded more than 5,000 books and materials into a truck, which then backed up all the way to the loggia entrance of Hale Library.
This is a picture of library staff moving book carts around the second floor of Hale Library.
Moving the more than 5,000 books and materials was no easy task, but the Library User Services team had smiles on their faces and were very excited to move the first books back into the library.

Construction is expected to continue on Hale Library for the foreseen future. The crew is taking precautions by following appropriate social-distancing standards and holding meetings outdoors in good weather or in larger indoor spaces to maintain space. There also are fewer workers than there were previously. All in all, things are moving at a fast pace and we are excited to share more photos as the library progresses!