Current Activities:
Posted July 1, 2008

As part of the planning for Olin Library renovation, Room 601, the American and European History and History of Science reading room, is now unavailable so that the facade investigation may continue outside Olin.  This work will require that a crane is stationed between Olin Library and Sage Chapel, necessitating the closing of the sidewalk in this area during the week of July 7.  Please exercise caution when walking in this area.

Construction Details:
The facade investigation is necessary to provide the architects and engineers with a clear understanding of the condition and construction design of the exterior wall of Olin as well as the method used to attach the very heavy limestone panels to the building. This information is needed to determine whether it will be necessary to remove all or only a portion of the exterior panels as part of the HVAC upgrade effort. The exterior wall is lacking in insulation and a vapor barrier, which has plagued the comfort of users and limited the life of collections for decades.  The insight gained from this investigation will assist in the design of a new exterior wall (with no visual changes planned to the facade other than much cleaner panels) and provide for more accurate budget estimates for the project.

Outside the Building:
The limestone panel removal will take place on the southwest outside corner of Olin, beginning with the upper-most panel at the sixth floor level (the seventh floor exterior facade is entirely glass and wood) since the limestone panels were originally installed from the bottom up (3rd through 6th floors).  A top down removal is the only practical method for removing the panels without risking breaking panels, which would increase the safety hazard for this work.  This corner location allows the contractor to also remove portions of the western facade, which has likely suffered the most damage from years of condensation problems. 

Room Closings:
The outside panel removal effort will require that room 601 is closed due to noise and possible safety concerns, along with a portion of room 501, a staff office area.  After the removal, the contractor and the architect recommend that 601 be used to "mock-up" wall designs and various models of energy efficient windows as well as testing various lighting schemes, ceiling systems, graduate carrels, etc.  This plan would necessitate closing room 601 for the '08/'09 school year.  Room 501 will remain a staff office for the time being.

Temporary Location of 601 Materials:
The Olin Renovation planning group have looked at alternatives to accommodate graduate students in History and the History of Science for the next academic year.  The recommendation is to accommodate the course research materials in the English reading room on the third floor (room 305), which can accommodate the material and is one of the largest reading rooms in Olin. The bound periodicals that are housed in 601 will be stored together on available shelving in the southwest corner of the 6th floor (shifting this material to the 3rd floor would be very expensive as there is no empty shelving available).  Most of these journals are also available online in JSTOR. Signs will be posted alerting patrons to these changes necessitated by the Olin renovation planning.

The outside panel investigation is essential and must be done now to keep Olin renovation on track.  The actual renovation of Olin itself will begin summer 2009, which while most welcome, will result in other space closures, perhaps as early as next spring. 

Please e-mail RenovateOlinLibrary@cornell.edu with any questions.