The newly renovated Olson Library in Harden Hall opened today, and guided tours are being offered all week to introduce the campus community to the new space and services. The facility has a brighter aesthetic and appears more roomy, with plenty of soft seating and study areas.
“The biggest changes are the addition of the Learning Commons, which brings together all four campus tutoring centers in one space,” said Emera Bridger Wilson, library director and department head of the library and archives. “That includes the Writing Center, all-campus tutoring, math tutoring and the Language Resource Center. We're really excited about that. The other major change is co-locating the Central U.P./NMU Archives and the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center here in in the library. We're in the same division, but sharing the same space will make it easier to collaborate and do shared programming.”
When tutoring is not actively going on in the Learning Commons, the area will be open for students to study or hang out, she added. The atrium is reservable and equipped with furniture that can be moved around in flexible configurations.
Other additions include: the Holocaust collection reading room, which features rotating materials from Olson Library's extensive collection of more than 8,000 titles related to the Holocaust and other genocides; a podcast recording room; a one-touch recording space for class projects, rehearsing a speech and other purposes; and accessible computer setups. There are also new spaces that can be reserved for events or meetings.
The collections area is different than in the former Harden Hall, mainly because the third floor has been reconfigured. About half the space belongs to the Library and the other half—which lies outside of the library—houses new classrooms, the Honors Program, SHINE and SISU.
“As a result, we have about half of our collection back in the building with us; the other half remains in storage and is requestable through our website, just like it was when we were over in Gries Hall during the renovation,” Bridger Wilson said. “All of our collection is available to be used, but for those things that are roughly older than 1985, you will need to request them.”
Other second-floor features not previously mentioned include the pre-K through 12th grade collection; maps, atlases and government documents; and media including DVDs, CDs and vinyl.
The remaining Olson Library tour schedule is: Tuesday at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.; Wednesday at noon, 1 and 2; Thursday at 11, noon and 1; and Friday at 11, noon, 1 and 2.
