The UCI Law Library Blog
The new library spaces are now open to students, faculty, and visitors! The expansion project has added new seating, new study rooms, and a newly configured computer lab. Decorating and some other moving-in activities will continue over the next several weeks. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the new space.
We have tables and chairs! We have books! We are tantalizingly close to opening the new spaces for student and faculty use. There are just a few loose ends to tie up.
Next week’s plans call for: moving library staff back downstairs; moving California titles downstairs; triple-checking alarms and lights; setting up the computer lab; and arranging furniture.
Stand by for updates!
Movers brought our books back this week! Library staff and movers have been busily re-shelving since Monday, and are now just about done with everything that had been in storage.
The new space gives us room to move things around a bit. We’ll soon update our floor plan to provide a general idea of where everything is.
One big change that you might notice when the new space opens is that most of the California-specific materials (like annotated codes and practice guides) will be downstairs, in one of the new seating areas.
Related: Where are all the books from downstairs (Oct. 22, 2012)?
The downstairs has been revealed! Over the next few days, crews will put finishing touches on carpet and paint, and study room furniture will be delivered and arranged. Then next week (during the mid-semester review period) library staff will start putting the books away.
If you’ve recently asked at the desk about using the new space, you might have heard that we’re waiting for the fire marshal’s ok. That is, before students or staff can start officially using the new spaces, we need our “Certificate of Occupancy.” Library staff will be downstairs putting books away next week under a sort of temporary permit, but we can’t open the space to students until we get that final certificate.
If you’re curious about the law covering this process (e.g., why is the fire marshal responsible for inspections?) you could do the following:
Check back here for updates!
The new upstairs study rooms and computer lab have been revealed! After working this week on lighting and a few other projects, crews were able to remove the plastic that had been protecting the upstairs seating area from dust.
The new rooms aren’t quite ready for student use, though. Before we can open the upstairs, ceilings will get insulated, alarms will get tested, furniture will be moved, and computers will get networked.
Downstairs is also waiting for inspections, furniture, and cleanup. Check back here for updates.
Have you seen the new tables and chairs downstairs? If not, take a peek inside the library next time you walk through the courtyard. Where there used to be huge shelves of primary law books, there are now study tables and chairs. Lounge chairs and study room furniture are scheduled to arrive next week.
The rest of the downstairs doesn’t look quite as finished as the northeast wing, but things are still moving along. This month, inspectors will visit to make sure the new spaces are up to snuff, and crews will make any necessary changes as they finish their work. I look forward to getting more information about exactly when the new spaces will be safe for student use sometime quite soon. Check back here for updates!
Several of the new group study rooms for law students are now looking quite put together! The new rooms will be very similar to the original ones, with office chairs, tables, and doors that close.
In the past, study rooms filled up fast during exams. But with five new group study rooms upstairs, as well as a new one downstairs, it should be much easier for law students to walk into the Law Library and check out a room for two hours at a time.
Curious about the layout of the new rooms? Check the building plans, posted in October.
Crews are now completing some of the most striking projects, including carpeting, paint, and trim. You can even see molding along the floor in this photo, taken late yesterday afternoon. (Crews are also working on some more behind-the-scenes systems to make sure the new spaces are safe and well-lit, but photos of those projects aren’t as impressive.) I look forward to posting progress snapshots of books going back on the shelves soon — hopefully in the next few weeks!
The end is in sight! Floors are being sealed in preparation for carpet installation this week. Shelves have been installed, and walls are getting prepared for final coats of paint.
After the last construction walkthrough–tentatively scheduled for late January–there are still several steps to complete. Before the new spaces open, the books will go back on the shelves, artwork will go back up on the walls, and furniture will be delivered and arranged.
I’ll update here as dates are finalized!
The expansion project continues over the break, and this week is an especially noisy one. Remember that wall of shelves on the lower level that used to greet you at the bottom of the stairs? It’s gone now!
In addition to bringing down entire walls, crews are working on lights, installing shelving, and prepping the floor this week.
If you plan to use the Library over the break, please remember that we have earplugs at the desk.