College and Research Libraries


Background Activities in the 
Planning of a New Library 

By E S T H E R G R E E N E 

THE ADELE LEHMAN H A L L — W o l l m a n Library is the first new b u i l d i n g on 
the Barnard Campus in over thirty years. 
A b u i l d i n g o n a college campus in a city 
such as N e w York where each square 
inch of g r o u n d is hallowed is faced with 
many obstacles before it sees the light of 
day. A mere o p e n space, to say nothing 
of trees and shrubbery, though of doubt-
ful lineage, looms in the eyes and affec-
tion of some of the college c o m m u n i t y 
and its alumnae as possessing values not 
easily outweighed by a library of even 
the world's greatest thinkers. T h a t Bar-
nard dedicated its new library-classroom 
b u i l d i n g o n A p r i l 5 is evidence of the 
final decision of the trustees that new 
library facilities were essential f o r the 
c o n t i n u e d educational growth of the 
college. 

Barnard, although it is the women's 
undergraduate college of C o l u m b i a Uni-
versity, has its o w n board of trustees, 
faculty, and financial resources. T h e li-
brary too is separate, with its o w n b o o k 
collection, administration, and staff. Its 
75,000 volumes have been chosen over 
the years to meet the basic requirements 
of the college curriculum. Barnard's 
charter, however, grants to b o t h its stu-
dents and faculty free access to all the 
library resources of the university. T h i s 
is a cherished privilege at Barnard and 
in b o o k selection has permitted concen-
tration o n students' needs rather than 
developing library resources for faculty 
research. 

T h e library was housed o n the third 
floor of Barnard Hall in quarters built 
for it in 1918. Lack of space f o r its b o o k 
collection and its readers, as well as lim-
ited opportunities f o r g o o d service, had 
b e c o m e of increasing concern. T h i s con-

Miss Greene is Librarian, Barnard College. 

cern was formulated in a report, sub-
mitted by the librarian and endorsed by 
the faculty library committee to the 
president back in 1946, strongly urging 
that serious consideration be given to 
providing a new library building. 

T h e library was not alone in its need 
f o r new or e x p a n d e d quarters. T h e sci-
ence departments too had o u t g r o w n b o t h 
space and e q u i p m e n t facilities. Office 
space f o r faculty was at a premium, as 
well as classrooms. 

T h e f o l l o w i n g year an architectural 
firm was commissioned to make a study 
of the over-all b u i l d i n g requirements of 
the college essential for expansion f r o m 
an enrollment of 1,200 to a possible 1,500 
students. A l l departments were inter-
viewed in detail but the resulting plan 
was too ambitious: an estimated ten 
million dollars f o r a b u i l d i n g to be a 
c o m b i n e d library and science building. 

A l t h o u g h these plans were shelved, a 
faculty committee o n new buildings was 
a p p o i n t e d with the librarian as a mem-
ber to work out a realistic b u i l d i n g pro-
gram f o r the college. T h e deliberations 
of this committee over a period of 
months placed the renovation of Mil-
bank Hall, the main administrative and 
class r o o m b u i l d i n g which included the 
science departments, as of first impor-
tance. T h i s renovation to be f o l l o w e d as 
funds were available f o r new quarters for 
the library and a new dormitory. During 
these discussions the possibility of pro-
viding space for the library within the 
renovated b u i l d i n g was raised but there 
was sufficient support to the premise that 

J U L Y 1 9 6 0 269 



Adele Lehman Hall—Woilman Library 

this was not the solution for the library. 
U p o n successful completion of the 

renovation another suggestion gained 
some support: that the library might at-
tempt to expand around its present 
third-floor quarters, thus eliminating the 
need for an additional building which 
would consume coveted campus space. It 
was evident to those concerned with the 
importance of the library's place in the 
college program that the requirements 
for good library facilities to meet the 
needs of a vigorous expanding program 
must be given emphasis. 

Professor Maurice F. Tauber, who is 
conversant with the University as well as 
with Barnard, was engaged to conduct a 
survey of Barnard's library facilities and 
to make recommendations. His recom-
mendation that a new library building 
would best support Barnard's educa-
tional aims and was in fact essential was, 
after general faculty discussion, accepted 
by the trustees as the next item on Bar-
nard's development program. T h e first 

spadeful of campus turf was about to be 
turned although the hours of committee 
meetings on plans for the new building 
had not as yet begun. 

T h e architects were recalled and in 
conference with the buildings and 
grounds committees of both faculty and 
trustees the site was chosen. A new com-
mittee—the Ad Hoc Library Committee 
— o f twelve members including the li-
brarian—was appointed by the president 
and promptly set to work. 

T h e librarian at once organized her 
staff into small groups to act as a com-
mittee of the whole. Considerations of 
this committee were carried on simul-
taneously with those of the policy-making 
ad hoc committee. An outline of topics 
on all aspects of library procedures as 
well as of basic equipment was formu-
lated. 

T h e reference librarian prepared from 
the last ten years of Library Litera-
ture a bibliography of references under 
each topic. These references were as-

270 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



signed to the appropriate staff who, after 
reading the article, prepared a brief an-
notation of any pertinent article for the 
card fde. T h e findings were discussed 
with the staff and over the reading pe-
riod staff opinions were formulated on 
such possibilities as a divided catalog, 
subject divisional arrangement of the 
collection and services, smoking in the li-
brary, and carrells, to name but a few of 
the items considered. 

Each professional member of the staff 
made one or more visits to new libraries. 
T h e ideas gained f r o m seeing other li-
braries in operation and in discussing 
plans with their librarians added grist 
to the mill of our active file of ideas for 
the new building. For an account of each 
visit was likewise recorded on cards, with 
notations, for example, on such specific 
factors as width of aisles or the possibil-
ity of putting wheels on the tables used 
in the processing areas, the type of shelv-
ing best suited to recordings, etc. 

T h e librarian attended two building 
conferences, one on college libraries and 
a series of meetings on public library 
buildings. Both were exceedingly helpful 
both in the specific programs presented 
and in the opportunity to show and dis-
cuss Barnard's plans with other librar-
ians and building specialists. These ac-
tivities helped to some degree the ab-
sence of a paid library consultant. 

T h e ad hoc committee was the policy-
making committee. It considered all 
phases of the library program as set 
forth by the librarian in her 5,000-word 
report of the requirements of a building 
best suited to carry on library functions 
at Barnard. Meetings were held almost 
weekly for nearly two years, with one or 
more of the architects usually in attend-
ance. As soon as the program was ac-
cepted the committee turned its atten-
tion to specifications and equipment for 
the proposed building. Final decisions of 
major financial importance were made 
in committee meetings held jointly be-
tween members of the ad hoc committee 

and those of the Trustees Buildings and 
Grounds Committee. 

During all of this period the librarian 
was also working directly with the archi-
tects as the layout of the building pro-
gressed. Close cooperation was realis-
tically possible since the architects, 
O ' C o n n o r and Kilham, are a New York 
firm. T h e interrelationships of various 
functions carried on in the library by 
both staff and readers had been thor-
oughly discussed by the staff and incor-
porated in the librarian's program. From 
the very first drawings the architect in-
corporated these ideas into the general 
layout of each floor. As their plans were 
being developed the librarian, aided by 
her staff, furnished simple sketches 
of possible modifications and changes. 
Graph paper, architect's rulers, and pa-
per mock-ups tested the abilities of cer-
tain staff members to think concretely 
about stack arrangements, circulation 
desk requirements, and such matters as 
the square footage required for each 
microfilm reader. W h e n the going seemed 
especially rough the architect's philoso-
phy that "there is always a way" and his 
willingness to find it n o matter how 
small the problem gave constant en-
couragement. 

Democratic procedures at Barnard pro-
vide for a number of committees, both 
faculty and student, to take part in dis-
cussion of most issues. T h e Development 
Committee, both faculty and student, 
had suggestions for the ad hoc com-
mittee. 

One suggestion of major importance 
that came after tentative plans were well 
under way was that of combining class-
room facilities and some faculty offices 
with the library by adding another floor 
—the addition in n o way to interfere 
with the entity of the library. Here again 
campus space influenced the trustees' ac-
ceptance of this revised conception of 
additional college facilities. New sets of 
plans were made which met the approval 
of the ad hoc committee. In the spring 

J U L Y 1 9 6 0 271 



of 1958, on a wet April day, a silver spade 
actually turned that anticipated shovel-
ful of earth and the paper work and 
discussion of the past months began to 
take visible form. 

T h e major responsibilities of the ad 
hoc committee were now at an end. Its 
place was taken by a small coordinating 
committee, composed of the chairman of 
the Trustees Buildings and Grounds 
Committee, the comptroller, the director 
of the development program, the chair-
man of the Faculty Library Committee, 
and the librarian. This committee 
worked directly with the architect on 
problems as they arose. 

A n d what of the final results? Inherent 
in all the planning was the desire to erect 
a library building that would best carry 
out the educational program of the col-
lege and would, as well, permit Barnard 
to offer to the university community its 
due share of library facilities and services 
with a greatly expanded b o o k collection. 
T h i s brief summary of the way one col-
lege proceeded in a new building pro-
gram is not the place to describe the 
building in detail, its floor plans and 
equipment, although the temptation is 
great. For the dramatic glass and terra 
cotta facade through which the soft col-
ors of the interior are clearly visible has 
given this building architectural distinc-
tion as well as providing what both staff 
and library users believe is excellent 
functional arrangement. 

T h e building has four stories and a 
ground floor. W i t h 43,680 square feet on 
four floors devoted exclusively to library 
activities, the library is a self-contained 
unit within Lehman Hall. T h e r e is n o 
traffic through the library on any floor 
for any other area of the building. T h e 
arrangement throughout this open-shelf 
library is flexible; books and readers are 
intermingled in all areas with pleasant 
working space adjacent in a number of 
small units to the sections of book shelv-
ing. Shelving is provided for 150,000 vol-
umes. Seventy-five of the 590 seats are at 

individual carrells located in attractive 
areas adjacent to windows. 

T h e first campus-level floor, set back 
from the loggia, smaller than the next 
two floors, is given over to reserve books. 
Two-thirds of Barnard students are com-
muters and this area otters study space 
at tables for two or four as well as open-
shelf reserve facilities. This floor also 
contains two loud studies, a typing room, 
a seminar room, and the staff lounge. 

T h e second floor contains the main 
circulation desk, the reference collection, 
the periodical area, the main catalog, the 
literature collection, the processing room, 
a reference work room, the librarian's of-
fice, a treasure room, loud study and typ-
ing rooms. Both the first and second 
floors have attractive informal lounge 
areas. 

T h e third floor houses the rest of the 
collection, has an audio-visual room with 
an adjoining equipment room, a fine arts 
print room, and listening facilities in an 
open area for thirty-two students using 
ear phones. Smoking is permitted in des-
ignated areas on each floor. One of the 
two elevators is restricted to staff use. 

All of the equipment in the library is 
new—much of it is custom designed. 
Chairs, for instance, were chosen after 
many samples both commercial and of 
special design were displayed for student 
reactions. Color of walls, floor coverings, 
and fabrics used in special areas were 
chosen in consultation with the interior 
decorator member of the architectural 
firm. 

T h e ground floor provides a receiving 
r o o m for library gifts and a storage area 
for duplicate copies. T h e r e is also a well 
equipped r o o m for library supplies. A 
language laboratory under the jurisdic-
tion of the language departments is prov-
ing very popular. Three faculty offices, 
four seminar rooms, and the mechanical 
equipment for the building comprise the 
remaining space o n this floor. 

T h e top floor, set back as is the campus 
level floor, has brought together the so-

272 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



cial science departments with five semi-
nar rooms and seventeen faculty offices, 
making a fine working unit. 

Classrooms and offices both on the 
fourth and ground floors are reached di-
rectly from the lobby with, as has been 
stated earlier, no traffic through the li-
brary. This combination library and 

classroom building has given Barnard 
an active center for intellectual activi-
ties. A library, classrooms, and faculty 
offices when well planned so as not to 
interfere with the smooth running of one 
another's activities can exist, we are find-
ing, very happily within the framework 
of one building. 

B U I L D I N G D A T A 

Architects: 
R. B. O'Connor and W . H. Kilham, 
J r . 

Project cost: 
$2,200,000. 

Building cost: 
$1,820,000. 

Number of stories: 
4 stories and ground floor. 

Over-all dimensions: 
185'-6" long x 86'-6" wide. 

Modular column spacing: 
22'-6" x 24'-8". 

Gross areas: 
Library 
Classrooms, offices, 

and other 
Total enclosed space 

Campus arcade 
R o o f t o p recreational 

courts 

Cubic footage: 
Building 
Campus arcade 

Book capacity: 
150,000 volumes. 

43,680 sq. ft. 

22,640 sq. ft. 
66,320 sq. ft. 

5,700 sq. ft. 

7,100 sq. ft. 

83,000 cu. ft. 
70,300 cu. ft. 

Library seating: 
566, not including staff service areas. 

Exterior walls: 
Masonry cavity wall with brick 

facing. 

Terra cotta trims. 

Terra cotta and glass front: 
170'-6" x 24'. 

Exterior columns: 
Covered with mat-glazed turquoise 
terra cotta. 

Planting boxes and benches: 
Brick and bluestone. 

Interior walls: 
Plastered gypsum block partitions 

painted. 
Facing of birch panel in some loca-

tions. 

Floors: 
Vinyl-asbestos tile, in general. 
Ceramic tile in toilet rooms. 
Bluestone flagging in lobby arcade 

and on terrace. 
Carpeting in treasure room, Gil-

dersleeve area, and librarian's 
office. 

J U L Y 1 9 6 0 273 



Ceiling: 
Fiberglas acoustical tile, in general. 

Illumination: 
Mostly fluorescent. 
Incandescent in some reading areas. 

Ventilation: 

Mechanical ventilation system pro-
viding circulation of tempered, fil-
tered, and humidity-controlled air 
throughout building and through 
stack aisles. 
Provisions made for future air-con-
ditioning. 

Heating: 
Forced hot water convector system. 
Zoned, automatic temperature con-
trol. 

Furniture: 
Library: 
. Mostly custom-built furniture in 

cherry and birch, designed by 
O ' C o n n o r and Kilham: 464 chairs 
(backs of two-thirds of the chairs up-
holstered in 6 colors of Naugahyde): 
51 carrells of birch, plexiglass, and 
woven cane; 24 individual birch 
desks for students. 
Birch circulation desks, card cata-
log, b o o k trucks, exhibit cases, 
metal stacks with birch ends, and 
free-standing wooden shelves by 
Remington Rand. 
Steel furniture by All Steel Equip-
ment and by Steelcase. 

Departmental Classrooms: 
Seminar tables and chairs—some 
with vinyl upholstered seats—sofas, 
lounge chairs, and other pieces by 
T h o n e t . 
Armorply chalkboards, vinyl cov-
ered tackboards by U. S. Plywood. 

Curtains: 
Silk and linen curtains in the treas-
ure room, Gildersleeve area, librar-
ian's office, staff lounge, and depart-
mental classrooms. 

Special areas: 
Library: 

Virginia C. Gildersleeve reading 
area. 

Listening area. 
Periodical area (with informal 

lounge). 
Reference area. 
Reserve b o o k area. 
Smoking areas. 

Special rooms: 
Library: 

Audio-visual r o o m (accommodates 
50 students). 

Print room (contains 117 exhibit 
panels). 

Treasure room. 
L o u d studies. 
Seminar room. 
T y p i n g cubicles. 
Staff offices, work rooms, and lounge. 

Classrooms: 
6 Social Science departmental class-

rooms 
2 classrooms for general use. 
20 offices. 
T h e Lehman Language Laboratory 

(29 booths). 
Economics statistical laboratory. 

Sculptor: 
Rhys Caparn. 

Color Consultant: 
Teresa Kilham. 

Structural Consultant: 
T h r o o p and Feiden. 

Mechanical Consultant: 
James Mongitore Associates. 

274 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S