THE NEW LIBRftRV
By the
Numbers
11.7
miles of shelving
56.8
miles of voice
and data wiring
500,000
collection
capacity
(in volumes)
779
public seats
180
computers
Hand remembers that the
Penn State Capital Campus
Library Task Force, formed
under then-Provost and Dean
Robert McDermott, believed a
new library was needed to legit
imize PSH's academic pro
vided ports grams.
827
data ports
group study rooms
instruction lab
seminar rooms
115,000
sq. feet
technology-
enhanced
classrooms
The Dream Becomes
Getting the new library was “no piece of cake.”
Continued from Page 1
B. Shill picked up the ball eight
years ago and has scored a glori
ous touchdown for the team.
According to Hand, he is one
of the “founding fathers” of the
Library of the Future. Hand sat
on the task force responsible for
recommending a new PSH
library more than 20 years ago.
The space available in the
Olmsted building was not ade
quate. A new library building
would help attract students, fac
ulty, and the community to cam
pus.
Hand added that the task
force felt a new library would
“accent the presence of Capital
Campus.”
For more than a decade, the
task force and then the physical
plant committee, chaired by
Hand, lobbied continuously with
“discretion and sensitivity to
anyone who would listen” to
.gain approval for the new
library.
The approval process is com
plicated. According to Hand, the
administration of an institution
the size of Penn State University
must consider a “large number
of legitimate needs and objec
tives and assign relative priori
ties within a given financial situ-
ation.”
Meanwhile, Hand noted, PSH
grew in stature within the PSU
world. “PSH offered a wide
array of degree programs and
was ahead of its time in meeting
the needs of working people
seeking degrees, especially
advanced degrees, who couldn't
afford to be full-time students,”
Hand said.
Finally, the lobbying effort
paid off. PSH's Library of the
Future was added to Penn State
University’s Capital
Improvement Plan and then the
Pennsylvania State Capital
Improvement Budget.
While that move was a victo
ry, adding the new library to the
plan was one big step in an even
bigger process.
According to Shill, in 1990
the library was subject to a line-
item veto by Gov. Casey. Then,
in November 1992, Casey
approved the project, but not the
funding. Finally, on his last day
in office, Jan. 13, 1995, Casey
approved the library funding.
Then, Gov. Tom Ridge froze
budget expenditures when he
took office.
The approval process really
ended only two years ago. In
March 1998, Penn State
University President Graham B.
Spanier released the funds need
ed to begin construction.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shill had
been appointed PSH Library
Director in 1991. So, in addition
to his regular responsibilities,
Shill’s tenure has been filled
with planning committee meet
ings, architectural drawings,
piles of furniture catalogs, coun
tertop samples and upholstery
swatches.
A groundbreaking ceremony
was held April 30, 1998 and
construction began Aug. 30,
1998.
A little over a year later, the
construction process officially
ended in October.
With construction complete,
the team shifted their attention
to shelves, furniture, and coordi
nation of the daunting task of
moving the entire collection,
some of which had been in stor
age, to the sparkling new build
ing.
A view of the miles of new shelving
During the massive final task
of moving, which began Dec. 8,
Shill kept his team informed
through regular, detailed e-mail
updates.
The e-mails outlined specifics
on such divergent topics as
expected technology connection
dates, color choices for solar
shades, and hand soap installa
tion in the restrooms. Each e
mail ended with an expression
of thanks and support.
The team’s cohesion paid off.
According to Shill, he frequent
ly would think of a task only to
find another team member had
already taken care of it.
Gloria Clouser has been a
member of that library team
since Dec. 1, 1975 and had the
honor of shelving the first book
in the new library, the Jan.-
March 1962 volume of
Analytical Chemistry.
Clouser has seen many
changes in the past 25 years.
She has worked under three
directors, watched walls come
down in Heindel Library to open
the floor plan, and in 1981
watched the “tool shed” go up.
That metal structure was
meant to be a five-year Band-
Aid for the library’s overcrowd
ing. Clouser then described 19
years of leaky roofs and squirrel
invasions in that section of the
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