Indeed the Mann Library renovation considered the users when the plans were conceived. The plans implemented Cornell student-work as well as the work of architecture professors. The library contains faculty offices, cutting-edge laboratories, large study rooms, and the above-mentioned features. First, providing comfortable indoor temperature is essential for the well being of faculty, staff and students, especially in an area like New York where fall and winter can be bitter cold. The new HVAC system not only improves the ability for students and employees to use the library comfortably, but also helps keep the collection safe from environmental elements.
The Bissett Center second floor transformation states user-centered, all around. The change of what was once the "catalog room" into an area for large LCD screens, laptop connections and group work stations equipped with multi-media capabilities is a representation of the way libraries have changed in the last twenty years. Once an entire room was needed for the catalog, however now with the use of online catalogs, there no longer was a need for a catalog room. Instead, the need was for electrical outlets for laptop connections, network availabilities, and for furniture that would lend itself to gather for group work. Installing equipment for digital presentations was also a need that was met.
Students can now use the Mann library for working on assignments that require digital equipment. This type of transformation is a sign of the times that libraries have become centers for digital information and not simply for storage of printed material or for “checking out” books. The need for equipment for digital capabilites emphasizes that students are needing digital access. The electronic capabilities were provided in the renovation and exemplifies that overall the library culture and its use has transformed to an electronic media hub.
The Manndible café also represents that the renovation included the need for a place to refuel with coffee and other edible nourishment. The Mann library is only one of several on the Cornell University campus, however it meets the needs for gathering students to complete course work in a cutting edge environment with the latest technology capabilities.
This link will take you to the renovation page of the Mann Library.
http://www.openhouse.mannlib.cornell.edu/index.html
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Renovation
Renovation
The Mann Library is one of several libraries on the campus of Cornell University. It is located at the northern part of campus. There have been several renovations to the Mann library, but the most recent was completed in the summer of 2007. The Mann Library hosts services for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, and the Division of Nutritional Sciences. The collection includes books, journals, and databases in the fields of agriculture, plant and animal sciences, nutrition, food science, biology and biotechnology, natural resources and environmental sciences, textiles, and selected social sciences (applied economics, communication, design, education, family studies, housing, human development, human ecology, human services, and rural sociology).
The Mann library was built in the early 1950s, underwent transformations in the 1980s and then again in the late 1990s. At last there were plans for yet another renovation that would truly bring the antiquated building into the 21st Century. The latest renovation was a two-part phase with the second phase completing the upgrade in 2007. There were several reasons for the renovation. One was for health reasons, which lead to an update of the HVAC system; moreover, the need for updated space that met students’ multi-media needs was a larger reason for the new construction.
The renovation improved the library by creating a place where students can gather to not only access information, but to collaborate on group media projects. The second floor, the Bissett Center, was originally the library’s card catalog room, but it now features “Knowledge Bars,” which are high tables with stools grouped around large LCD screens capable of displaying group work from individual laptops. There are also movable tables and chairs that can be rearranged to accommodate any group. Alongside are also mobile workstation carts.
Other additions include a gallery and a café. The gallery has a two-story ceiling, a sound-absorbing cork floor, a flexible hanging system, and directed indoor lighting as well as natural lighting from a large window opening to the Students’ Centennial Garden. The café is called Manndible and it was created to provide a place for gathering and possibly to host events. It locally ground coffee and organic and fresh menu items.
The Mann Library is one of several libraries on the campus of Cornell University. It is located at the northern part of campus. There have been several renovations to the Mann library, but the most recent was completed in the summer of 2007. The Mann Library hosts services for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, and the Division of Nutritional Sciences. The collection includes books, journals, and databases in the fields of agriculture, plant and animal sciences, nutrition, food science, biology and biotechnology, natural resources and environmental sciences, textiles, and selected social sciences (applied economics, communication, design, education, family studies, housing, human development, human ecology, human services, and rural sociology).
The Mann library was built in the early 1950s, underwent transformations in the 1980s and then again in the late 1990s. At last there were plans for yet another renovation that would truly bring the antiquated building into the 21st Century. The latest renovation was a two-part phase with the second phase completing the upgrade in 2007. There were several reasons for the renovation. One was for health reasons, which lead to an update of the HVAC system; moreover, the need for updated space that met students’ multi-media needs was a larger reason for the new construction.
The renovation improved the library by creating a place where students can gather to not only access information, but to collaborate on group media projects. The second floor, the Bissett Center, was originally the library’s card catalog room, but it now features “Knowledge Bars,” which are high tables with stools grouped around large LCD screens capable of displaying group work from individual laptops. There are also movable tables and chairs that can be rearranged to accommodate any group. Alongside are also mobile workstation carts.
Other additions include a gallery and a café. The gallery has a two-story ceiling, a sound-absorbing cork floor, a flexible hanging system, and directed indoor lighting as well as natural lighting from a large window opening to the Students’ Centennial Garden. The café is called Manndible and it was created to provide a place for gathering and possibly to host events. It locally ground coffee and organic and fresh menu items.
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