Viewing page 447 of 484
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
The Atlanta University Center Library... A Reality. by JULIE V. HUNTER, Deputy Director The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library is the new library designed to serve the instructional, informational and research needs of its six member institutions. The new facility is, according to its first director, Dr. Virginia Lacy-Jones, "one of the most aesthetically appointed academic libraries in the country." It represents the culmination of a 15-year project to enhance and update library services for each of the member institutions. The Council of Presidents for the Center, in 1967, recognized the urgent need to study its present library program, assess the many problems and develop a plan to solve those problems. A team of consultants was engaged and in 1968, the team submitted an evaluative report of its findings. The Council adopted the consultants' report and set in motion a fund drive to finance this project. Ten years later, with a $10,000,000 personal gift from Robert W. Woodruff, former chairman of Coca-Cola and well-known Atlanta philanthropist, the project of developing and improving services became a reality: the erection of one centralized library facility to accommodate graduate and undergraduate programs. The balance of the library building's cost was funded through gifts from foundations, corporations, private institutions and individuals. The new library was opened in January, 1982. It was built on 3.66 acres, occupying two city blocks. It is located about one mile from downtown Atlanta and is in easy walking distance of two of the MARTA rail stations. The Center estimates the cost of the building at $18,000,000, including modern furnishings and equipment. The building, designed by architects Toombs, Amisano and Wells, Inc. in a joint venture with J.W. Robinson Associates, offers many modern features, including solar grey-tinted insulated glass, a computerized energy management system, an energy efficient lighting system, adequate facilities for the handicapped, 138 individual closed carrels, 468 open study carrels, and eight meeting rooms. Two of its central features are: 1) a skylift atrium occupying 21,000 square feet which includes a set of marbled stairs spanning the entire three levels, with a stainless steel water fountain; 2) an exhibit space that rises more than 20 feet in height to be used for major travelling exhibits and as a meeting area with a seating capacity of more than 1,000. The facility has space for almost 1,000,000 volumes, seating for 3,000 users and is built to serve a student population of about 14,000. Presently, its collection totals more than 400,000 volumes, 60,000 bound volumes, 10,000 microforms and 32 tons of archival materials. The main floor (or middle level) houses technical services, circulation and reserves, the card catalog, reference, periodicals and microforms, government documents, curriculum materials, the circulating and reference collections and a potential 24-hour study area. The circulating collection continues on the upper level and shares spare with Special Collection and Archives, the exhibition gallery and the Administrative Offices. The lower level remains unfinished for library services. A portion of the space is presently being used for a Mass Communications program, the Centerwide Computer Center, and the Cooperative College Library Center (CCLC). The moving and merging of six libraries into one centralized facility was a sound management decision. It brought for the Center unification of library services and a demise of unnecessary duplication of titles and sources. While such a move is not without precedent, it is a rare feat that offers a challenge to make the library program a viable part of the total academic climate. [[image - The Robert W. Woodruff Library]] 445
