UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Extensive renovations are planned for the George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library on the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus, with the intent of modernizing the 50-year-old library to better support the emerging needs of future and current health professionals and scientists.
The renovated space is designed with students and faculty at the core with a focus on collaboration and innovation. Technology will be integrated throughout the space, including a One Button Studio and an Innovation Technology Sandbox designed to support and encourage the use of new technologies, including 3D printing. The estimated cost of renovations is $4.6 million. Work on the project is expected to begin in late 2015, with completion scheduled for fall 2016.
Libraries across the spectrum are facing pressure to rethink how library space is used. A report from the Association of College & Research Libraries, "Environmental Scan 2013," examined the trends in higher education and their implications for libraries. The report outlined three implications for creating and managing collaborative spaces:
- Academic libraries should actively experiment with programs and initiatives offering collaborative or problem-solving spaces.
- Academic libraries should continue to look for opportunities to partner with departments and groups on campus to create collaborative spaces.
- Academic libraries should proactively engage with their users in order to determine space needs and desires.
Input and feedback from both students and faculty have been an integral part of the planning and design, and have centered on ways address the three key points outlined in the Environmental Scan 2013 report. The redesigned space will include new furnishings, 11 student study rooms, a new door to the outside at the rear of the current library, and new stairs to the 2nd floor where the 24-hour study space and Clinical Simulation Center are located.
“The Harrell Library Senior Planning Team and Student Advisory Group have worked collaboratively to inform plans for renovating the existing space in order to continue to meet the evolving needs of faculty, students, researchers, and staff,” said Cynthia Robinson, director, Harrell Health Sciences Library and associate librarian. “When complete, these renovations will result in a 21st-century library and learning commons designed specifically to meet Penn State Hershey strategic directions, support new methods in teaching and learning, and enable our Medical Center and College of Medicine to remain relevant and competitive into the future.”
The library is named in honor of the Founding Dean and CEO of the Penn State College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the late George T. Harrell.