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Hale Library Blog

Month: May 2020

Rising from the ashes: the two-year anniversary of the Hale Library fire

Posted on by Cailin Riley

A graphic that says "Hale Library 2 Years After the Fire"

Two years ago, on May 22, 2018 at 4 p.m., things at Hale Library changed forever.

The fire and the resulting damage from water and smoke impacted several sections of the library, including Historic Farrell Library and the Great Room. As a result, nearly 130 employees found themselves out of their regular workspace and into more than 13 temporary work spaces throughout campus.

As a way of recognizing the immense progress that has been made in the two years since the fire, we wanted to share photos that show the tremendous progress we’ve made. As we get closer and closer to completing the renovation and restoration of the library, we hope you find as much inspiration from these photos as we do.

A picture of the Great Room, damaged, with water on the floor.
The West end of the Great Room, two days after the fire on May 22, 2018. Most of the damage to the library was a result of the heavy smoke that traveled throughout the building and the water used to extinguish the fire.
A picture of the Great Room currently, under renovation.
The West end of the Great Room today, after significant restoration efforts. All the wood beams from the ceiling were taken down, repaired, restored and then put back in the exact same spot.
A picture of a damaged acorn finial.
The acorns in the Great Room were in strong need of repair following the fire.
A picture of repaired acorn finials hanging from the ceiling.
The acorn finials were repaired and varnished to get them in shape for being reattached to the ceiling.

The catastrophic damage to the library was a hit to the entire K-State community, as Hale Library is often viewed as the heart of campus, and a place where everyone is welcome to share a quiet moment of reflection or study. At the time, it seemed that the incredible task of restoring the 550,000-square-foot building would be the greatest challenge the library and its staff have ever faced.

Two pictures side by side of the murals and holes in the ceiling following the fire.
On the left, a hole in the Great Room ceiling is shown where the fire broke through into the room, taken June 28, 2018. Today, boxes cover the Great Room murals to protect them during construction. The murals are stable and will be restored after all construction is complete.

But now, two years later, the challenge lies not in finishing the restoration of Hale Library, but in preparing for what comes next.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, construction continues on Hale Library at a rapid pace. Every week, the changes at the library become more and more visible—we would say that the library is starting to look like its old self again, but that wouldn’t be true. Instead, Hale Library is beginning to look like its new best self, a mix of the historic and the future.

On the first and second floors, the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab begins to take shape, introducing a creative space that will open new doors for students and patrons as they tackle projects with the latest technologies. On the third floor, the historic Great Room is being restored to its former glory, but the acorn finials hanging from the ceiling are newly varnished, the murals are being repaired with the latest restoration techniques and desperately needed electrical updates flow throughout the space. Similarly, the first and second floors of Historic Farrell Library will also be restored to showcase their beautiful architectural details, but the spaces will have new purpose as they house distinctive collections and comfortable study space with plenty of natural light.

A picture of the first floor, full of damaged furniture.
This was what the first floor looked like on June 11, 2018; much of the furniture was temporarily stored on the first floor.
A picture of student studying on the renovated first floor.
Students were able to experience the new first floor which opened last fall. The Dave and Ellie Everitt Learning Commons is a collaborative space with technology enabled group study rooms, open seating and so many whiteboards.

It’s these changes and more, that are beginning to reveal a next generation library.

A picture of covered furniture on the second floor.
The state of the second floor on June 14, 2018; furniture is covered with plastic wrap and being removed.
A picture of the renovated second floor.
The new second floor was completed this spring, and holds 99 computer stations for community use.
A side by side shot of the second floor sunflower window overlook; one is full of drainage tubes, the other with soft seating.
In June 2018, the second floor entrance was swarmed with white tubes that helped circulate air and dehumidify the building. Today, this second floor space has been repurposed into a “living room” area, complete with soft seating where students can enjoy this beautiful arched window.

We want to say a huge thank you to the library and IT staff for their patience throughout this journey, as well as their unwavering dedication to continuing to provide quality service to the community. We also want to extend our gratitude to the entire K-State community for their endless support.

In a year from now, on the third anniversary, it’s exciting to think about what it will be like in Hale Library. By then, the full library is expected to be open to the public and students and staff will once again have a place on campus to call home. The ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel is keeping our staff, in particular, positive and resilient. We also hope that by then, life will have returned to some kind of normalcy for us all.

It hasn’t been an easy road to restore Hale Library, nor has it been a short one. But we’re confident that the results will be well worth the wait.

Building update: We’re in full swing!

Posted on by Cailin Riley

Spring is in full swing and we’re excited to share pictures of how things are growing at Hale Library!

Many projects are being fleshed out further and some spaces, including the Great Room, Joyce and Joe’s Cornerstone Café and the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab are visibly coming together. The Innovation Lab in particular is starting to take shape as crew members install drywall and create the rooms that will house technologies new to the library and campus.

A picture of the case coming along.
Various kitchen equipment has been installed in the cafe including refrigerators and reach-in coolers. With the counters now installed as well, this space is really coming together!

The Innovation Lab will be available to all students, staff and faculty at K-State, giving them access to new technologies such as digital media production, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, immersive digital environments and other emerging innovations. The lab will be located on the first and second floors of the library with a staircase connecting the two spaces.

The space also will include 14 3D printers, a Glowforge laser cutter and a studio that will allow users to record high-quality video with a single touch of a button. Two of the 3D printers will be FormLab SLA printers; these printers use ultraviolet light to create a strong but flexible resin often used for healthcare or engineering materials. The remaining 12 Ultimaker printers create materials by stacking melted material layer by layer.

A picture of Jahvelle Rhone holding a face shield.
Jahvelle Rhone, the media coordinator for the Media Center, holds a newly 3D-printed face shield. Jahvelle and the K-State Digital Fabrication Club have been using 3D printers to create these face shields for local healthcare workers.
A picture of Jahvelle Rhone and his family.
The whole family has been helping Jahvelle! Here, Jahvelle, his four children and his wife TeAndre show off the face shields they’ve been making. The DigiFab club has made more than 175 face shields so far to help local healthcare workers stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A picture of the digital media lab space, under construction.
This will be the new digital media lab. This space will be filled with computers containing various software including the same software that Disney animators use to create their works.
A picture of the future 3D print lab space.
This space located on the second floor of the Innovation Lab will host our 3D print lab with 14 3D printers.

The virtual reality room will allow visitors to explore their projects using 3D technology. For example, an architecture student would be able to view a 3D rendering of a building project as if it were right in front of them.

A picture of the future virtual reality lab space.
Three large screens will be installed in the virtual reality room on the first floor. In this picture, the pale yellow wall in the middle will hold the middle screen.
A picture of the future one-button lab space.
Work continues on the one-button studio, which will allow users to record high-quality video with a single touch of a button.

Crew members are continuing plaster work on the Great Room and installing light fixtures. With every new day, the space is looking more and more trim and polished!

A picture of the Great Room walls covered in pink adhesive material.
The pink material on the walls in the Great Room is a special bonding material that allows for better bonding between plaster and plaster, or concrete and concrete.
A picture of crew members working on plaster in the Great Room.
Several crew members focus on repairing plaster in the Great Room.
A picture of a crew member with ceiling lights grouped on the floor.
The white cylinders on the ground are actually ceiling lights for the Great Room; they sure do look bigger when they’re on the ground!

We hope you enjoy seeing the progress in Hale Library as much as we do, and we are thrilled that we are able to obtain regular photos to share with the K-State community. Our next blog post will be an extra special one, as we look at the immense amount of progress that has been made since the Hale Library fire nearly two years ago. Stay tuned!