Penrose Library will be moving to a temporary location in the Driscoll Ballroom in June, as renovations to the library building begin.

The staff of Penrose Library have listened to student suggestions and, after the library renovations are completed, the Penrose Library will boast many new features.”

However, until renovations are completed, the library will be relocated to a temporary location in Driscoll Ballroom beginning in June.

Action is already being taken in Driscoll to accommodate students over this transition period with thought being given to increasing the Wi-Fi capabilities of Driscoll and discussions with other deans across campus about keeping certain facilities open longer over the next year and a half to increase the amount of private and group study space available to students.

The transition period will last about a year and half, and students can expect the new Penrose Library to be completed in December 2012.

The decision was made to move the library from Penrose to Driscoll as both a cost-effective and time-reductive measure.

Although the move is less than six months away, Erin Meyer, member of the Penrose transitioning team, suggested that this should not worry students this academic year.

“Penrose will be empty by July, but you won’t see a difference until after the spring quarter,” Meyer said.

There is also no plan to discontinue services at Penrose at any particular time. The move will be made over several weeks, but what is not being offered at Penrose will be offered in Driscoll.

After the move is completed, students can expect all the same services that are currently in Penrose to be offered in Driscoll, including the Math Center, the Writing Center and University Technology Services.

Although Driscoll offers less space than Penrose, Meyer insists that this will not be a problem.

“Nancy Allen [the director of Penrose Library] is talking to other buildings on campus to extend their hours for quiet study,” she said. These locations will act as satellite study areas for students and at least one of these areas includes the Olin Rotunda.

The smaller space in Driscoll may lead to fewer computers being available to students than in Penrose, according to students who raised concerns when the move was announced. To combat this, Penrose staff are going to install Microsoft Word and other programs on all of the computers in Driscoll instead of just a select group, as is the current configuration in Penrose.

Books will also be moved to an off-campus location at the Hampden Center.

The process of getting a book from the off-campus location will be much like the current Prospector system that allows students to receive books from other libraries. The new system, however, will be much faster.

Students will be able to order their desired book or media item on the Penrose website using the “Request It” feature, and the requests will be delivered by one of two vans running a continuous loop between Driscoll and Hampden during library hours. Students can then pick up their book at a desk in Driscoll.

The expected wait time for students to receive their order will be around two to four hours.

The new system of book ordering is now available online highly recommended by the Penrose staff, who would like students to learn how to use it before the move.