New level in Tisch to be opened to the public

A section of Tisch Library used to store old periodicals will soon be opened to the public.

The University plans to spend more than $200,000 to finish the lowest floor of the library, level G, increasing the library's finished space by 116,000 square feet and adding to the building's existing stock of study spaces. The floor has been unfinished since construction of Tisch was completed in 1996.

Because level G is closed to the public, anyone who wants to consult a periodical stored there must complete paperwork and wait one to two days for the material, which cannot be removed from the building.

"We always consulted faculty members as to which periodicals and journals could be moved down to level G," Michalak explained. "However, over the past few years, the volume of requests for these items located in level G reached around a thousand per year, and faculty members started asking if we could open it to the public."

Although library administrators agreed that the idea was a good one, there was no funding for the project until alumnus JoAnn Wellner (J '63) challenged her class to match her $100,000 gift to the library at her 40th reunion earlier this year. Classmates met the challenge.

The cost of the project has not yet been determined, and any funding deficit will be financed by Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the library's operating budget, and savings. A local foundation is financing the installation of 10,000 feet of compact shelving.

According to Michalak, the added space will increase the library's capacity from 800,000 to one million volumes. "This gives us a good amount of growth space," she said.

Director of Administration Paul Stanton expects the project to be completed within four to six months, pending approval from the City of Somerville.

"We're all very anxious for the change," said Stanton. "I think the patrons will be happy, and the library will no longer have to assign staff members to go and retrieve [materials on level G]."

Stanton, along with a group of circulation desk employees and bibliographers, are currently discussing details of the project, including making room for additional study spaces.

After Tisch was completed in 1996, rooms on level G were occupied by programmers, financial, human and payroll systems, and most recently, career services.