Booth Library Renovation

When the original Booth Library's renovation took place in 1968, the stduents and staff were not pleased with the results. In fact, the renovation made the library a less conducive place to study. The addition closed off an entrance and made the interior darker. Call me crazy, but it wasn't the most optimal thing to do to a library environment. So recently, architects of Holabird & Root in Chicago, IL, were brought in to fix the prior renovation and make the massive 134,200 sq. foot space more compatible for the people who use it every day.

Changes made include:

Recreated the original entry and restored the south portion of the building.

Opened up the atrium space and made it more functional as well as restored the stone and woodwork.

Added a second south entry and relocated offices to the south addition to free the rest of the library for reading and stacks. This resulted in an addition of 12,800 sq. feet of space.

Opened up an atrium on the south side to bring light into the library and provide a central study/ circulation area.

Created an atrium which exposed the original wall on the south side of the building.

Restored the interior and exterior walls.

Restored the interior limestone and the north-side exterior limestone.

The renovation took about two years and the students and staff took met it with positive responses.

Binghamton Science Library gets a makeover

More and more libraries are innovating to keep some of their customers....and sometimes innovation is through renovation. One such example is Binghamton University Science Library. This library was going out of date in its technology and computing infrastructure, as well as spaces used by students. This changed when the Director of Libraries was able to get the money earmarked for this computer space renovation by bringing more computers into the library and building the Information Commons. Though this was not part of Library Strategic Planning, it was well known that students needed more public computers in the library.

For example, newer skylights were put and student work areas have been updated.

And of course, IT computing equipment was added as well :-) ...