Fondren and the Future

Of the many features of Rice University that have remained familiar over the years, two are the importance of printed books and journals as salient mediums of scholarly exchange and the idea that a library is central to the educational experience. Those still hold true, but today, the way educational material is disseminated and the role of the library are undergoing dramatic change, and Fondren Library is at a crossroads.

The most recent planning study for the enhancement of Fondren Library and information resources at Rice, undertaken in 1992, identified a variety of desired elements that were perceived as enriching the intellectual environment at the university. These included consolidating traditional library services and programs, implementing innovative and more widely deployed uses of technology for information delivery and knowledge management, balancing on-site collections with remote storage of less-used books and journals, creating a more easily navigated building, and configuring flexible study spaces with better seating and reading areas that emphasize the collaborative and social nature of learning.

Many of these goals remain crucial as Fondren Library looks to move into the future, but at the same time, much has changed in the world of the library since 1992. Most obvious is the explosion of the World Wide Web. In the last seven years, literally hundreds of millions of Web pages have been created, thousands of online journals have appeared, and the National Science Foundation has invested millions in digital library projects across the sciences and humanities. Some disciplines are now completely dependent on electronic resources for research and teaching. Internet access is nearly ubiquitous. Tens of thousands of independent academic projects are increasingly linked through national registries and digital catalogs. Emerging areas of research augur extraordinary advances in our understanding of the world: Bioinformatics, nanotechnology, and molecular computing are all prominent examples of Rice’s academic strength. These compelling scientific advances also portend new ways of organizing, managing, and delivering information—basic elements of the traditional library.

During the past several years, campus leaders have come to understand more deeply that the virtual spaces at Rice provide means by which the academic community can meet, exchange ideas, collaborate on projects, read and compose assignments, conduct research, and build digital repositories that reflect new understandings.

Like the campus of bricks and mortar it complements and extends, the digital environment requires a unifying architecture and must be secure, easy to navigate, and dedicated to intellectual development of the highest order. Rice must plan for and manage its digital environment with the same meticulous care and sensitivity accorded its renowned physical plant of academic buildings, colleges, and green spaces. “No upward limit” should apply equally to our virtual dimension, as it did nearly 100 years ago to the new institute when it broke ground.

How Will Rice Proceed?

The library at Rice University will evolve in the coming decade, bridging the complex academic needs of the present with a future we are just beginning to understand. Today, new areas of research, breathtaking advancements in technology, and an equally astonishing growth in scholarly resources can rightfully claim the Gutenberg revolution as precedent. Fondren is on the cusp of a transformational epoch, with an opportunity to create a 21st-century library that is vibrant, flexible, and attuned to a swiftly changing world. Our goal remains identical to the earlier library project: to construct a preeminent academic support environment that sustains the most advanced research and intellectual productivity of any institution of higher learning.

Obviously, building renovation and a number of interrelated services and programs lie ahead. Preparations for those have begun with the construction of the new off-site Library Service Center, which opened in January. The center provides space for the ongoing transfer of lesser-used library materials, so that Fondren always will have adequate space to evolve.

But that evolution will not be simple. Originally, the university planned to raze the existing library building and construct in its place a new structure that would incorporate the increased digital library resources the university needs in addition to all of the defining concepts identified in the 1992 planning study. The plan to replace the existing library has been revised, but the guiding concepts that emerged in the planning process have been preserved and will be realized within the existing library and its off-site Library Service Center. In addition, many important enhancements are under way or planned for the next four years.

The concept and costing study for this project are now ready to begin. The project team includes architects from Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, Bailey Architects and Linbeck Construction Inc., as well as staff from Fondren Library and the Office of Facilities, Engineering, and Planning. The Rice Board of Trustees approved this concept and costing proposal at its May 2004 meeting, and further planning and construction will follow in 2004 and 2005.

Inside Fondren

Library renovations will be phased and will initially focus on the first, second, and sixth floors. One of the most visible alterations will be a “main street” through the center of the first floor of Fondren. This concept has been an element in all recent library planning studies. Creating a new entrance on the west side of Fondren with an open corridor connecting to the present eastern doors will help improve sight lines to key services and allow us to consolidate some services. It also will aesthetically connect the first floor with the mezzanine to improve patron orientation and direction finding and help accommodate the high volume of student traffic along the west-side axis that connects the colleges with the science and engineering buildings.

Relocating circulation/reserves to the newly created western building entrance will enhance library service points. The space occupied by the circulation/reserves staff needs to be updated and relocated to accommodate new functions, such as electronic reserves processing and the housing of additional format materials (DVD, CD-ROM), as well as to address other changes in staff duties. Consolidating the information desk with the circulation/reserves not only will allow greater efficiency in staffing but will provide 24-hour access.

The library also will be attuning itself to particular Rice needs. The Asian Studies Program, for example, has been enhanced with a number of new faculty in areas of specialization such as Japanese history and Indian religious studies, resulting in increased interest from students. Faculty members have expressed the need for a space where special language materials and computers could be located for the study of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and other Asian languages, and in response, we are tentatively planning an Asian Studies Alcove for the Reference Room on the first floor.

The creation of a coffee shop/cyber cafe also is planned for a new pavilion area, which will be located along the western exterior of the building. This area will act as a social and intellectual place to read, study, use technology, talk with friends and colleagues, or take a break. Although history has shown many examples of how coffee, intellectual thought, and socializing go hand-in-hand, coffee service in libraries is a relatively new trend, contradicting the library’s traditional image.

Improvements to the Woodson Research Center include relocating the doorway and replacing several small rooms to reveal activity in the research center and the collections housed within. A glass-paneled door will be installed to the reception area to give a more welcoming feel for scholars and students using the facility, and exhibit cases will be placed near the entrance. Some of the other features that will be incorporated into the center are new bookshelves, equipment, and furniture and modernized fire safety.

Enhanced study rooms are planned. Students have requested flexibly designed collaborative spaces in the library, with a variety of technology to accommodate the social nature of learning, and the library sees the need to create rooms for individual and group study.

Creating an open space with views of campus on the sixth floor is another highlight. This space would be furnished as a reading room, with comfortable chairs and data ports. Setting aside an area dedicated to the Graduate Student Association would give graduate students a place to meet, recruit future graduate students, and share information pertinent to their interests.

The library project team also will evaluate other possible renovations as part of the study, including furniture upgrades, remodeling of staff areas, facilities issues, and other library service-point modifications.

External Enhancements

Several projects relating to the enhancement of the digital library at Rice also are planned as part of this study. One proposal is to use the former Business Information Center space in Herring Hall for Digital Library Services. This open space is ideal, with minimal refurbishment, as a digital library service center. Computer equipment from less-used Owlnet labs could be more productively placed in this area, and the Electronic Resources Center (ERC), currently housed in the basement of Fondren, could more visibly serve the Rice campus as a multimedia production and teaching center. The Educational Technology Research and Assessment Center, a component of the ERC that provides expertise on the evaluation of classroom technology at Rice and across the nation, is another facet that would improve with a more accessible location.

Network upgrades and the expansion of wireless coverage on campus are needed. A well-managed and maintained network is critical for the delivery of information, collaboration, and secure data storage and retrieval in the coming years. This would include wider deployment of Rice’s wireless network.

All these enhancements will help re-create Fondren Library as a library for the 21st century and allow further growth for information technology’s increasing importance in the university’s educational and research endeavors. At the same time, they will serve to maintain the library as a focal point for academic activities and as an indispensable information center and archive for Rice’s future.

—By
Charles Henry
Vice Provost and University Librarian
and
Sara Lowman
Director of Fondren Library and Associate University Librarian