Christmas Holidays

The library closes at 6pm today Thursday December 21, but construction will continue all through the holiday. We reopen on January 2nd. Happy Holidays everyone!

Construction Update

Here's what's happening:
Work continues on the demolition of the old main entrance. Drilling holes in the floors (core drilling) will be done on all 3 floors to make way for the new electrical rooms and new bathrooms. A lot of work is being done in the maintenance area on the lower level to get the new server room ready. A street cleaning machine came through the parking lot late Friday to help clear up all the mud from last week's wet weather. The pile drilling machine completed 5 test holes last week. These piles are now being examined before the drilling of the 111 piles begin next week. The good news is this method of pile driving is not nearly as disruptive as we thought it would be. The installation of new duct work is nearly finished on the first floor and the dry walling of office space has begun. Unfortunately, the free coffee has ended for the semester.

Free Coffee!!!

The first floor is progressing nicely, walls are going up instead of down now. Luckily, by 2:30 the construction quiets down. This means that studying is most easily accomplished between 2:30pm and 2am in the library.



To keep you awake until 2am, the library is supplying free coffee in our vending room on the lower level through finals and possibly beyond..... Come and get a cup before heading upstairs to study. Enjoy!

First Floor and the Big Hole

There's a big hole in front of the library. It's where the lower level auditorium is going to be. Here's a look from above.

They have started construction on the first floor which means everything has been ripped out and they are putting up offices near the windows. It's a long way to go, but here's a glimpse of the construction.

Another view, here's where technical services used to be, it will now be Library Instruction classrooms. What do you think?

Lights out

Boom,
The lights went out at 9pm tonight. Apparently 1/2 of Loyola has lost power as well as a bunch of neighborhoods all the way up to The Swallow on Northern and York. OUCH! We've closed the library and will reopen in the morning (if the power is on). This doesn't have anything to do with the library construction, just letting you know. Goodnight.

Mr. Eaton says:

We are still working on getting the handicapped, unisex bathroom on the lower level switched over from the men's room to the women's room. In the meantime the women's room will continue to be closed on that floor. A latch lock has been installed in the unisex bathroom. Just as an added note... The men's room on the 2nd and 3rd floors will be closed in the very near future. A determination on which floor will have the men's room (either 2nd or 3rd) is being studied.

Also, the clocks are off.... Eaton says:
We are working on a solution for the clocks. Demolition of the 1st floor caused many power disruptions to the master clock system. Hopefully the clock problem will be fixed soon.

More Pix!!

There is a very large hole in front of the library. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what we're seeing. Imagine viewing these to the sound of Jackhammers (but only until 3pm then it's quiet time in the library)



An exterior view of the digging looking across from Butler/Hammerman.








Allen working hard in his hard hat.

The digger digging.

First floor deconstruction view from the missing reference desk.

What a beautiful weekend, hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. The electrical work was done over Thanksgiving weekend. It went off without a hitch and everything is online. New signage is up to steer you in the right direction. Hopefully I'll get more pictures, especially of the barren first floor tomorrow.

Turkey Weekend

The library closes at 8 tonight. I'm here of course 'til we close. Tomorrow and Friday the construction crew will work on electrical fittings and hopefully will finish by late Friday night so that we can open again on Saturday. Have a wonderful holiday weekend and drive safe in all that rain we're supposed to get. Be back Sunday night.......

Saturday stream & sewage

All is quiet in the library this morning, but outside there is a big truck working on the Stony Run stream project. You may have seen the pipes they've been laying out for the last week or so. The project should take 2-3 weeks. Rumor has it they will take down the dam by the bridge and make the pond next to the library into a streambed. They are doing work like this as well under Charles Street by Evergreen House and around Loyola's Newman Towers, running all the way through Stony Run park. Pix to come.

Nasty Thursday.. some construction pix.

I got soaked walking over to Loyola for lunch today. What a nasty day. I'm glad I'm not a construction worker digging in the mud. It's good to know that you don't actually have to come out in this weather if you want to talk to a librarian or do research. Call-Email-Chat with us, we're here! Here are some pictures of the construction.


Alan swinging a sledgehammer










Nancy surveying the first floor move.








Moving the books, thank goodness for student workers, and Eaton and Alan and Steve and John.......








A view of the Loyola Dorms construction from the 3rd floor, obviously this was before today's rain.

New Construction Blog - and Entrances....

Welcome to the first posting of the library blog. FYI if you haven't been here, it's a bit of a mess. The front entrance was closed off in late October and now we have two.

Notre Dame students walk halfway across the bridge and go down a covered stairway, through the hallway, around the corner and past the microfilm cabinet wall.









Loyola Students go between the construction site for the dorms and the one for the library and around the chain link fence to the side of the building facing Ahern. When you spot the bookdrop, you're there.





There's some noise here before 4:30, and for people used to working on the Lower Level near the windows, you'll have to go up to the 3rd floor to find the peace and quiet you're used to. See the Lower Level map to the right if you're wondering where things are. Please post comments, we'd love to hear from you.