A second phase of renovations at MacOdrum Library will be beginning this upcoming week and are expected to be mostly finished by the 2016 fall term.
The renovations include redoing the third floor, replacing the exterior wall facing the canal with a new wall, replacing an older elevator, and updating the washrooms to make them more accessible.
Darryl Boyce, the director of Carleton’s facilities management and planning, said the current renovations are the second phase of a renewal process for the library.
He said major construction work will be done during the summer to minimize disruption for students.
Current renovations—starting next week—are concentrated on updating and reducing office space for library staff on the third floor, according to Boyce.
Valerie Critchley, associate university librarian, said the construction during exam period will solely happen on the third floor in the office spaces.
The office space will be reduced to make more room for student study space on the floor, according to Critchley. She said workers are taking measures to minimize noise disruption during exams.
She said the construction has to be done during exam period because the staff offices lined up on the wall facing the canal need to be moved into the space currently being renovated before construction in the summer begins.
Critchley said in order for construction on the outside wall to be finished before the fall term ends, the renovations on the third floor office space need to begin now.
“We try not to do anything while students are in exam period,” she said. “On the other hand, we need to have some noise happening now or we’re going into October with no wall.”
The library had already undergone construction in 2013 to revitalize its facilities by adding two new floors and the Discovery Centre learning space on the fourth floor.
Boyce said the renovations are being funded by part of an allocated budget of $14 million for renewing Carleton’s existing facilities over the next 10 years. This budget was approved by the Carleton Board of Governors this past school year.
He said the library is one of the “primary areas” for renovation because it has become a major student hub for studying.
Some students find it frustrating that the upcoming renovations will be happening during exam period.
Sarah Davies, a fifth-year Carleton history student, said, “I think renovations can be good, but I think it’s in some ways poor planning if they’ve already been doing renovations for two years of my degree, then they’re re-doing another floor, especially the silent floor.”
“I think the library’s big enough—it’s got enough space,” said Micah Stewart, a religious studies student. “But if they feel otherwise, then I guess it’s the school’s discretion to make that decision.”
Brad Pullan, a fourth-year political science student, said the construction could be frustrating because exam period is when the library is open 24 hours.
“I don’t know all the reasons why they chose this time,” Pullan said. “We’ll have to adapt to it as students.”
Boyce also said this is not the final phase of construction for the library and that there may be two more phases in upcoming years.
