University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Cybraries will remain on the first and third floor of the redesigned Oscar A. Silverman Library in Capen Hall. Photo: COURTESY OF UB LIBRARIES

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By PATRICIA DONOVAN

Published: May 19, 2010

The Oscar A. Silverman Library, located on the ground through third floors of Capen Hall, has been reconstituted and is undergoing redesign to better accommodate the collections and services of the Undergraduate Library, the Science and Engineering Library, two cybraries and the UB Libraries’ Multimedia Center.

Budgetary constraints have forced the Silverman Library to discontinue its 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access, says Karen D. Senglaup, assistant director for access services, University Libraries. Beginning in the fall 2010 semester, the library will be open every night until midnight, except during examination periods and reading days when 24/7 access will be available. Click here for summer hours for all UB Libraries.

Senglaup notes that UB’s “Instant Librarian” service, which now offers instant information and research assistance from university librarians, has been expanded to offer additional services.

In addition to changes in hours, she says theSilverman Library’s undergraduate book collection is being moved and the library is undergoing a spatial redesign to meet changing student needs, particularly with regard to the availability of computer/Internet access, group study spaces and flexible study spaces that can be instantly reconfigured as required.

Formerly located on the ground floor of Capen Hall, the undergraduate collection is being integrated into the collections of Lockwood Memorial Library, North Campus; the Science and Engineering Library, Capen Hall, North Campus; the Music Library, Baird Hall, North Campus; and the Architecture and Planning Library, Hayes Hall, South Campus. That integration will be completed this summer.

“Merging the collections should prove beneficial in that it will streamline research and browsing,” Senglaup says. “It also will open up additional space on the ground floor of the Silverman, which will allow us to incorporate significantly expanded network and power access, as well as upgraded study space.” 

A concept plan for the ground-floor space is being developed by a libraries’ committee after visits to other academic libraries.

“Flexibility, group study, power access and technology needs will take precedence in the configuration of the space,” explains Senglaup, “as will as the choice of furniture and equipment. All UB Libraries already feature robust wireless access.”

She says redesign and renovation of the first, second and third floors of the Silverman Library also are under way or in the planning stage. 

“The first floor reference/information services have been relocated to the circulation desk area, placing librarians much closer to the entry doors and lobby, and thus more visible and accessible to students, faculty and staff,” Senglaup says.

She notes that UB 2020 “Building UB” funding is expected to provide for extensive redesign of the third-floor space following the transfer of older journal collections to the libraries’ annex or their replacement with digital content. 

Study spaces for groups and individuals, and a library instruction classroom featuring laptop computers, as well as enhanced power and network access, are priorities for the third-floor space.

“All of these changes and redesign fold into the University Libraries’ plans to evolve into a state-of-the-art, 21st-century library that supports the education, research and service missions of the University at Buffalo while providing increased global access to the libraries’ collections and services,” Senglaup says.