Work is continuing in the Main Library on a programme of works to bring significant improvements for library users through increasing the number of study spaces by 350 and providing additional power and data facilities at study desks.
Work underway this week (25th – 31st July)
This week we have finished compressing Main Library collections on the 2nd floor and have moved up to the 3rd floor.
Our contractors have moved collections on over 10,000 metres of shelving – quite an achievement!
In the coming weeks the empty shelving resulting from the compression will be removed, and additional study spaces added. This work has included a large amount of noisy reconfiguration of shelving and has restricted access to lifts and collections so apologies for the disruption caused.
We’ve been struck by how understanding our users have been during the work, so thank you all for your continuing patience.
Some of the collections (pamphlets and folios in P and the full collections of P, PA and PB) previously on the 3rd floor have now moved down to the 2nd floor.
The 2nd floor now has collections A-PB and the 3rd floor has collections PC-Z.
Signs will be updated accordingly.
This is part of the wider ongoing work to improve the Main Library over the summer – more posts to follow…
Over recent weeks we have been progressing well with our project to compress the Library collections on the 2nd floor.
We now have lots of empty shelves (photo below) so are able to begin to move some books down from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor; this will continue with the plan to free up space throughout all floors so that we can introduce additional study spaces.
During this move access to lifts and collections may be restricted, but we will have staff available to help you if necessary.
Apologies for the continuing disruption at this time.
The Main Library is embarking on a programme of works to bring significant improvements for library users by increasing the number of study spaces by 350 and providing additional power and data facilities at study desks.
The period of works is planned to be from 11th July to 31st August 2016 and is to be phased over the different floors.
Unfortunately, this will bring about temporary disruption to users in affected areas, involving noise disturbance, restricted access to some print collections and study areas being out of use.
Phase 1: Floor 4. The first phase of works is on the 4th Floor. As a result, some of the collections on the 4th floor of the Main Library (print journals, newspapers, the Centre of African Studies (CAS) Collection and the Serjeant & Watt Collection) will be inaccessible from Monday 11th July to Friday 22nd July.
If you need an item from one of these collections during this time, please email us at collections-management@ed.ac.uk. Items will then be retrieved and be available for you at the Ground Floor Help Desk within 24 hours (Mon-Fri) of the request being placed. Requests placed on Friday evenings and over the weekends will be satisfied on Mondays.
When placing a request, please include your own contact details and full details (title, shelfmark, journal volume number etc.) of the item required.
For further information about the subsequent phases of works, dates and areas affected, please see blog [http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/libraryredevelopment/]
As part of the Main Library work over the summer to create additional study spaces for Library users, the existing New Journals and New Books displays on the first floor are being removed. We are currently looking at options for a new collections display on the ground floor where we would aim to vary our displays between new books and thematic displays throughout the year.
The current displays will be cleared by 8th July 2016, from which time new journal issues and newspapers will be available within their sequences on the 4th floor and new books will be interfiled directly into the book sequences on the 2nd and 3rd floors.