If you are a regular visitor to our reading room at the Branch Library Main Campus, you might have noticed, that the study areas are in great demand - especially during exam periods. To be able to offer you a wide variety of well-equipped work and reading places, we will be expanding and remodelling the reading room at our Branch Library Main Campus.
We aim to:
- create 100 new work and study places
- establish group study rooms
- provide a calmer reading room atmosphere
- improve air-conditioning and technical infrastructure
The construction works will start at the end of April 2014 and are expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Preparatory works and relocations start Easter 2014.
In particular we plan:
1. More work and study places
In order to provide you additional work and study places, we are extensively reorganising the second floor of the branch library. The shelving system next to the silent reading room will be removed. This will enable us to provide 100 new reading places. During refurbishment, it will be necessary to relocate existing readers' desks temporarily. However, not a single reading space will be lost - that's a promise!
2. New group study rooms
Next to the planned reading places on the second floor, we will construct group working rooms. For this, we have cleared office space in a directly adjacent part of the building. After the refurbishment, these rooms will be available to you for collaborative learning and team work.
3. Less noise
The branch library's hub is the entrance area on the first floor. Here the checking-out of books as well as the packing and loading of boxes for our inter-branch courier service take place. In order to create a calmer reading room atmosphere, we plan to remove noise-intensive loading work from the circulation desk to back office areas. A new room will be built, where these day-to-day operations can be carried out without disturbing library visitors.
We hope to achieve even more tranquillity through the relocation of our team offices, which are currently located in the centre of the reading room. In the future, they will be situated in a separate section next to the public area of the branch library. The office space then available will be redeployed as work and study areas.
4. Better air-conditioning and infrastructure
It is only possible to enlarge the number of work and study places when sufficient air-conditioning is provided. We will therefore also tackle this issue during refurbishment. Additionally, we will improve lighting, install further electric sockets for notebooks, and renew the carpet.
Refurbishment Schedule
Construction Phase 1
During the first phase, which starts at the end of April 2014 and will last six months, a temporary construction wall will be built in the southern part of the reading room. Behind this wall, new office space for the library staff will be created in an area separated from the reading room. One part of the area will be turned into a loading zone for the boxes in which books ordered for loan arrive from other branch libraries. Here you will also find the self-service shelf for ordered books.
Afterwards the reading room area on the first floor will be reconstructed. This affects primarily the circulation desk, which will be downsized significantly.
During the first construction phase, we will also review the relevance of the library holdings in the reading room. In order to make room for new work and study places, we will relocate rarely used books and journals to our closed stacks in the basement. Through the online catalogue OPAC you can still order them for loan.
Construction Phase 2
During the second construction phase, we will reconstruct the second floor. Next to the silent reading room, in an area where you now can find a large shelving system, we will create new work and study places. In an adjacent part of building, we will construct group working rooms in former staff offices.
Construction means noise
It goes without saying that this comprehensive refurbishment cannot be completed overnight and without noise and disturbances, especially given the fact that it has to be carried out during normal library opening times. Right from the sart, we will have to cope with major noise pollution. We apologise for any inconvenience that the refurbishment might cause you and we would like to thank you for your understanding.
Concurrent with the library refurbishment, the roof above the reading room will be renewed. This might also cause some noise, dirt and smell.
These two construction projects are not linked. We do not have any influence on the planning and the progress of the roof works. However, we will do our best to inform you in advance about anticipated disturbances as soon as we receive notice. We will provide ear plugs for all noise-affected library visitors. We also recommend escaping to other TUM branch libraries and making use of the more peaceful study conditions there.
