August 12, 2019
Home Sweet Hale: First-floor study space opening soon
Submitted by Sarah McGreer Hoyt
It's been 15 long months since the May 2018 fire closed Hale Library, but we are just weeks away from opening the Dave & Ellie Everitt Learning Commons.
An official open date will be announced soon, but we anticipate opening most of the first floor very early this fall.
"As is the case with large construction projects, you have to expect the unexpected," said Lori Goetsch, dean of Libraries. "But it's coming together beautifully, and we wanted to get the word out in advance of students returning to campus."
We are also excited to announce the return of 24/5 hours later this semester.
"The renovation allowed us to make some strategic decisions about how Hale Library functions," Goetsch said. "One of the improvements that will be obvious right away is that we reconfigured the entrances. Now we'll be able to open just the first floor and close off stairways to the rest of the building, which will make monitoring 24-hour access more manageable and affordable."
Initially, the building hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 1-5 p.m. Saturday; and 1-10 p.m. Sunday. As soon as staffing is in place, we will transition to the 24/5 schedule: Hale Library will be open 1-5 p.m. Saturday, then open at 1 p.m. on Sunday and remain open round-the-clock until Friday evening.
This fall, the entire Dave & Ellie Everitt Learning Commons will be devoted to study space. Students will have access to hundreds of seats, including 14 reservable group study rooms. Multiple printers and a scanner will also be available.
Since the Hale Library renovation is ongoing, construction noise is expected.
This is just the first step in our multiphase restoration and renovation project. Most of the second floor is scheduled to open at the beginning of the spring 2020 semester, and the entire renovation is slated for completion by the end of 2020.
Library Help Desk services, including textbooks on reserve and interlibrary loan, will still be located in the K-State Student Union and at the branch library locations. IT Help will also remain on the second floor of the Student Union during the fall semester.
The vast majority of Hale Library's physical collection materials are still being cleaned and are located in off-site storage. Please use interlibrary loan to request materials that are not available.