RIVERSIDE, CA – The University of California’s Library for the Sciences was renamed to honor former UCR Chancellor Raymond Orbach in a ceremony yesterday. As chancellor from 1992 to 2002, Orbach oversaw a major expansion of campus facilities, including the completion of the science library, and a significant increase in the campus’ student population.

Following the ceremony, Orbach attended a symposium called “Science-based Solutions for the 21st Century: The Legacy of Raymond L. Orbach” in the auditorium of UCR’s new genomics building.

The 106,000 s.f. Raymond L. Orbach Science Library, which was designed by Shepley ...[more]

WELLESLEY, MA, – Shepley Bulfinch joins Wellesley College as the College marks the 100th anniversary of the Margaret Clapp Library with a reception and the opening of a retrospective photo exhibit at the library on October 21.

The original Library building was designed by the firm (then named Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge) in 1909 and funded in part by Andrew Carnegie. In 1975, it was named for Margaret Clapp, Wellesley’s eighth president (1949-66).

The cornerstone of the Classical Revival library was laid on June 5, 1909. The library opened to students on March 30, 1910, and was formally dedicated on June 13, 1910, the birthday of the Pauline Durant, wife of the ...[more]

As designers it’s often hard to for us to articulate the power of great design to new clients. It’s exciting when the impact of design is recognized and called out by users, as we saw in a recent assessment of Duke University’s Link, the Duke Teaching and Learning Center that opened in the lower level of Perkins Library in August 2008. Designed to encourage collaborative work and project-based learning, the Link answers a bigger question: how do we learn and how can our environments best support this? The Link is the culmination of our extensive planning and partnership with ...[more]

CHARLESTON, SC – What’s more important than dedicating a new building? Putting it right to work.

On August 20, the Ashley Hall School did just that when it dedicated its new Library and Science Center in a ceremony that marked the beginning of the fall term. Shortly after the event, student began using the resources of the new library, which occupies the first two floors of the 24,500 square foot building, and classes convened in the third-floor science center.

The new center is linked to existing Jenkins Hall with a three-story glass box connector that houses faculty offices, a media lab, and a central stair.

Head of School Jill Muti ...[more]

DURHAM, NC – The Winter 2009 edition of Duke Law Magazine makes it clear: Law School faculty, students, staff, and alumni are all reveling in the new J. Michael Goodson Library and Star Commons. In the article, “From Library to Commons” writer Forrest Norman recaps the building’s November 8 dedication, which included a keynote address by US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Duke President Richard Brodhead is quoted as saying “When you reach the point where a great law school has a great building, you realize it wasn’t just an ornament. It really is an enabler of things.”

In the words of Duke Law alumnus George Krouse, “The combination of this ...[more]

AUSTIN, TX – Austin, TX (December 11, 2008) – In their meeting today, the Austin City Council selected the team of Shepley Bulfinch and Lake|Flato to design the city’s new $90 million Central Library.

With 250,000 sf of space, the new library wil more than double the space of the city’s 110,000 sf John Henry Faulk Central Library, which was built in 1979.

As part of the design process, Austin Public Library in conjunction with the Library Commission and the Austin Public Library Foundation will actively seek citizen input through a series of public design charrettes. The library is scheduled to open in mid-2014.

by Janette S. Blackburn, AIA, LEED AP

Challenges and Issues in Designing an Information Commons

In “Breaking Down the Barriers to Working and Learning”, Janette Blackburn discusses design approaches that reflect evolving library service models. The paper was included as a chapter in the book, “A Field Guide to the Information Commons”, published by Scarecrow Press in February 2009.