Once again we eagerly anticipate the start of the fall semester and the arrival of students on campus. From students who are starting their first semester at the U to those who are returning, the campus comes alive with their excitement and enthusiasm.

We are finalizing preparations to ensure the Library is ready to meet the needs of students, ensuring that we are staffed to answer research questions and that technology is updated to meet computing needs. We also need to make sure that our facility – all 500,000 square feet of it – is ready for the 1.6 million visits that we anticipate during this coming school year!

Maintaining a library of this size is no small feat, and our facilities team does a superb job of providing a clean, safe, and comfortable environment for the more than 4,400 hours we are open each year. The Library is also attentive to providing the types of spaces that students need, from group study areas to quiet spaces. We maintain video and audio recording studios, a One Button Studio where a video can be made literally “at the touch of a button,” and a pop-up lab with everything from 3D printing to augmented reality equipment. Looking to the future, we plan to raise funds for a larger Digital Matters Lab.

In addition, the Library is very conscientious about being “green.” Just last year we completed a multi-year upgrade to our building automation system, saving $270,000 annually in energy costs while also better protecting library collections.

Furthermore we have a drought resistant garden on the roof of our automated retrieval center, and we house 6 solar panels on the very top of the Library.

Thanks to our incredible staff, we are ready to continue serving as the place for All U Need for our students.