There is no denying the sheer joy one gets stepping into a traditional library with its old book stacks and its long tables. Yet pleasure can turn into pain as a library gets ever more crowded and noisy, eventually becoming almost impossible to work in. Five years ago, this was the situation at Concordia University?s Webster Library, as the student population had grown from 25,000 to 46,000 within two decades. Watching students scramble for space, particularly at exam times, librarian Guylaine Beaudry embarked on a campaign that led to a total transformation.
A wood-framed portal on the ground level of the existing building invites students to the renovated Webster Library. ABOVE Fuschia-hued carpet inserts and millwork add visual punch to the second-floor reference desk area. When she tackled her ?optimization? project, Beaudry?who is now Chief Librarian?was not just thinking of growth. She was also thinking of an entirely new reality, that of the virtual library?in her words, the ?library of the future.? Finally, she wanted Webster to be open to all: students, faculty and the general public.
Designed by Montreal firm Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes (MSDL), the newly renovated Webster Library is still largely a secret to outsiders. No one can guess its presence from the street since the architects had to work within an existing structure, the J. W. McConnell Building. Built in the early 1990s, the pavilion is a heavy postmodern building with opaque walls, ...