Renovation of Special Collections and Archives

Dedication of the Lear Center on October 23, 2008

2008-12-22T11:53:00.041-05:00

The party to celebrate the official opening of the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives was held, of course, in the new center itself which comfortably accommodated the large crowd.

What follows is a selection of photographs taken during the party as well as the text of the remarks by Linda Lear at the dedication. The photographs were taken by Vincent Scarano.

Views of the party looking through the glass wall into the reading room.

Linda Lear addressing the guests

Remarks by Linda Lear at the dedication of the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, October 23, 2008

Thank you, President Higdon, Vice President Hisle, Dean Brooks, my fellow members of the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Deredita, distinguished guests, and my family. This is an event I never thought would happen in my lifetime. No one is more surprised or delighted than I am to be here and to see this fabulous space come into being and to dedicate it.

This celebration is happening because of three life changing events:

First and foremost because I won the lottery when it came to parents. James and Henrietta Lear wanted to give their only child the finest education available in 1958. Through their hard work, their vision, their stewardship, their generosity and especially their belief in what I might become, this room is ultimately a gift from them. It expresses their gratitude and mine for the education and life experience that I received during my four undergraduate years at Connecticut College.

Secondly, as an undergraduate I came under the influence of two extraordinary people. The first was Rosemary Park, 5th President of the College whose life and work made an indelible imprint on me, and whose personal friendship and nurture changed the course of my life. We were friends until her death several years ago, and no one could have had a finer role model for what a woman could do, or of the pleasures of the life of the mind, or of what it means to be a critical thinker in our contemporary world.

And the third was the opportunity to study under Dr. Richard Lowitt, who was for ten years Associate Professor of American History at Connecticut College . I am so moved by his highly exaggerated tribute, and I am so sorry he cannot be here for I owe him and this library owes him so very much. Dr. Lowitt believed that undergraduates could capably use and beneficially study original texts and documents. He believed undergraduate education should begin with original texts, not end with them in graduate school. But he did something else, he introduced his students here, and hundreds more in those other institutions where he taught in his distinguished career, to the local history of the place where they went to college. While he was at Connecticut College, he gathered primary sources of all sorts on Connecticut’s regional, political, intellectual and environmental history. I wrote an honors thesis on three important evangelical ministers in 19th century Connecticut. With the help of Hazel Johnson, then College Librarian, Dr. Lowitt built his seminars and his students’ research projects around these original collections. Together they made the College Library a research center and a place where manuscripts and archives were open to undergraduates, indeed where their use was required.

But the space designated in the Shain Library for Special Collections was never really adequate to an expanding collection or an especially inviting place to work. I dreamed of recreating a new Center that would be just as beautiful but more functional than my old and cherished and stylish dormer cubical in the third floor of Palmer Library. Its reality first took shape in conversation with Brian Rogers, College Librarian Emeritus, who was willing to guide my thinking about what was required. It was Brian who enthusiastically accepted my manuscript Carson Collection and understood how it would add to the already fine core collections here in the natural sciences and the environment. He has been a guide and cherished friend from the outset.

Laurie Deredita was named Special Collections Librarian, and Dr. Lee Hisle, a big Texan, not quite as tall as Brian, became College Librarian and Vice President for Information Services shortly after my biography of Rachel Carson was published in 1997. Dr. Hisle has taken the lead in shaping my ideas to conform to the physical reality in a library structure that was perhaps less grand than the Gothic ideal I had in mind, but still a space of beauty and functionality. The new electronic age has not always been friendly to rare books and manuscripts which take up space and require special care. Lee Hisle understands these materials as well as mainframes and data bases. I have come to have a deep respect for his expertise and his vision to support the growth and change of a research collection at a liberal arts college as well as how to make it accessible in this electronic age. Our partnership has made this Center possible.

Laurie Deredita has become a star in the world of archival management. Collections do no one any good if they sit in a box without anyone having the faintest idea of what’s in them, or how they might be used and displayed. Laurie has made this archive and special collections usable inside and outside the college community. Her ingenuity on a limited budget has been an inspiration. It was been the greatest honor to work together with her these last ten years and I shall miss her good judgment, her efficient work, and her curiosity tremendously.

Finally I want to thank President Leo Higdon for making the expansion of the college library with this new research center a priority and an essential component of the college’s centennial and a crucial part of its mission for continued excellence in the liberal arts.

May this Center honor my love of this college and serve its faculty and students in the pursuit of truth and knowledge for many years to come.

Leo I. Higdon, President of Connecticut College

Lee Hisle, Vice President for Information Services and College Librarian

Roger Brooks, Dean of the Faculty

John Nickum, Michele Pacifico, Linda Lear and Ian Lear-Nickum

Ian Lear-Nickum, Linda Lear and John Nickum

John Nickum and Lee Higdon

Linda Lear and Lee Hisle

Gregory Waldron, Vice President for College Advancement, and Linda Lear

Eric Ward, architect of the Lear Center project, and Laurie Deredita, Ruth Rusch Sheppe '40 Director of the Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives

Ann Higdon and Linda Lear. John and Heidi Niblack in the background.

The Lear Center completed!

2008-11-19T13:10:00.024-05:00

Work on the Lear Center project began about six months ago. These photographs, taken during the week of October 20, show the Lear Center at the very end of the project with all of the beautiful new furniture in place. The vertical display case houses books and artists books from the "A Celebration of Books" exhibition created for the opening of the Lear Center.

Each of the three new tables in the reading room has electrical outlets for laptop computers and the room has access to the campus wireless Internet network. The five brass table lamps with round linen shades were made by Nessen Lighting of Mamaroneck, New York. The three tables, the main desk and the storage unit (not visible) were custom made for the room by John O'Brien.

A student researcher from the Theater Studies "Eugene O'Neill and His America" course uses resources from the Sheaffer-O'Neill Collection and takes notes on her laptop computer.

The paintings on the wall are (left) Withered Lotus by contemporary Chinese artist Li Weihong and (right) The Hillock by Edward F. Rook.

Closeup photograph of one of the comfortable and attractive oak bowback Windsor arm chairs made by Dovetail of Holden, Massachusetts for the reading room.

A cozy sitting area has been set up in one corner of the reading room. The oil painting on the left is one of five by Old Lyme American impressionist William Chadwick that hang in the reading room. On the right is a watercolor painting of East Quoddy Head Light in Maine by Shirley Briggs, given to the library by Linda Lear. The handsome lounge chair was made by the Bright Chair Company of Middletown, New York. The round wood side table is by HBF of Hickory, North Carolina.

View toward the entrance of the Palmer Room. The two large tables in the center are original to this room but refinished and repaired during the Lear Center project. Similarly, the old parquet floor was sanded and refinished and all of the wood paneling was lightened and refinished. The locking metal enclosures on the bookcases were added during the project. The elegant wood side arm chairs were made by Bernhardt Design of Lenoir, North Carolina.

Another view of the Palmer Room. Not visible in this photograph are the hidden digital projector and screen in the ceiling. There are also retractable screens along the glass wall that separates the Palmer Room from the reading room that can be drawn down to screen out light or for privacy.

Half of the storage area has regular fixed stacks. This photograph shows folio and oversize shelving.

Part of the compact shelving is used to store boxes of material from the College Archives. The compact shelving operates manually with great ease and has allowed us to double our storage capacity.

One of the offices with the new furniture made by Steelcase.

The entrance to Shain Library

2008-09-18T11:38:00.034-04:00

Here are some pictures of the total makeover of the entrance to Shain Library which took place over the summer. In this photograph, taken from a window on the third floor at the beginning of the fall semester, you can see the right side of the walkway. Students are enjoying the cafe tables and chairs.

The left side of the walkway. The hole in the center, which was a major feature of the walkway when it was constructed in 1976, no longer exists.

In this view from the third floor of Shain looking toward the redesigned Cro Boulevard you can see the new pathways that have been constructed to redirect pedestrian traffic between Blaustein and Cro.

Moving into the Lear Center

2008-09-18T11:38:00.027-04:00

The collections were moved back into their new quarters over three days during the first week of September.

Filling up the stacks.

A stack aisle with empty boxes piled up at the end.

During the summer the Haines Room was packed wall to wall with boxes stacked four high. In this photo the room is almost empty.

The moving crew from William B. Meyer on their last day. Behind them are the large cartons that were used to store the folio books.

This is a section of the Palmer Room with books from the Palmer Collection on shelves securely protected by locking doors.

Views of the Lear Center before moving back in

2008-09-18T11:38:00.007-04:00

Here are some views of the Lear Center taken just before we moved back into the new space.

Additional shelving was installed along the corridor in the staff area.

The two new offices with the doors closed. The glass windows in the doors will allow natural light in the processing area.

Cabinets and shelves along the north wall of the new reading room.

August 25 - Almost finished!

2008-08-28T14:53:00.009-04:00

I have been on vacation for two weeks. What a difference in that time!

On Monday, August 25, the project was almost finished with some details and a lot of cleanup still to be done.

This is a view of the stacks. The shelves still need to be adjusted and cleaned.

The compact shelving is very sleek and the manual units handle very well.

The two offices are finished. They only need furniture now.

A view of the lockers and the coat closet in the hall with the new tiles in the corridor.

The very handsome new horizontal display case.

Week 12 - August 7

2008-08-07T13:52:00.020-04:00

The new wooden lockers for the Lear Center look very nice!

The exhibit case on the wall leading to the Haines Room with lots of construction material on the floor.

Refinishing the walnut parquet floor in the Palmer Room.

Above an office door waits to be installed. On the right the new door on the office. The plastic tube on the floor takes dust out of the construction site through the outside window.

Working on the ceiling in the corridor outside the Lear Center.

Week 12 - Monday, August 4

2008-08-05T10:20:00.012-04:00

During the 12th week of this project, the cabinets that have been built off-site are being assembled in the Lear Center. Here is the tall vertical display unit built for the new reading room. The unit will be lighted within and enclosed by glass.

The top portions of the cabinets along the north wall of the reading room have been put in place. The shelves and doors have not been added yet.

The refinishing of the old woodwork in the Palmer Room is done. The color is much lighter now and closer to the finish of the new cabinets in the reading room.

Out in the hallway, the lockers are being installed. The lockers are intended as a place for researchers using the resources in special collections and archives to put their personal belongings.

Week 11

2008-08-01T14:25:00.018-04:00

The demolition work on the pavement in front of the library is nearly done. Notice that the round hole is gone. The library staff will be very happy not to have the noise of the jack hammers every day!

This is the view toward Cro Boulevard. The road has new asphalt and there is a wide new walkway.

The plywood floor and tracks for the compact shelving have been installed in the stack area.

All of the wooden cabinets for the reading room were built off-site. Bringing them to the second floor has had its dramatic moments.

In the photo on the right, the workmen rest at the foot of the stairs and wait for reinforcements. This thing won't fit on the elevator!

Hauling the cabinet up the stairs. It took eight men to do this.

Turning the corner onto the second floor landing.

The new cabinet in place in the reading room. There will be bookshelves and a large space for artwork above the counter.

Week 10

2008-07-24T11:19:00.020-04:00

Great progress has been made in the library renovation project this week. In this photo you can see the base of the new reading room display case waiting to be installed.

In fact things are so far along that the demolition wall, erected to protect the stacks from the construction noise and dust, is being removed.

This picture taken from the stairwell shows part of the sprinkler system.

The shelves in the Palmer Room ready to be refinished.

Behind the plastic sheeting the woodwork in the Palmer Room is getting a total makeover.

Working in the compact storage area. The tracks for the shelving units are in place.

The glass wall--marked with blue masking tape--is in place. Through the glass you can see the very large wooden display case intened for the wall leading to the Haines Room. Assembled offsite, it will now take eight men to place it into the wall. It weighs about 600 pounds.

Carefully putting the display case into the wall.

In the meanwhile, the really dirty and very noisy work of demolishing the entrance to the library continues under the hot sun.

Week 9

2008-07-21T10:51:00.006-04:00

The renovation of Special Collections and Archives is only one of many construction projects taking place on campus this summer.

This sign is posted on construction fencing in front of the main entrance to Shain Library. The approach to the library is undergoing a major makeover.

The view of the work area from the second floor of Shain. This area will be repaved and the big hole will disappear.

Needless to say, the repaving job is noisy and dirty! Nevertheless, the library will remain open throughout the project.

The view from Shain Library toward Cro Boulevard now being repaved. This effort includes new sidewalks, walkways and landscaping.

Inside the library the special collections project is moving along. Here you see the big glass doors that will open into the new reading room.

A metal grid has been installed in the ceiling to hold the ceiling tiles of the reading room.

One of the sets of accent lights along the perimeter that will highlight exhibitions of artwork on the walls of the reading room.

Week 8

2008-07-10T14:44:00.008-04:00

The photograph on the left is of a new wall that adds 4 inches to the outside of a ventilation shaft on the main floor of the library in technical services. This wall was built to accommodate the many wires that had to be run between the second floor renovation area and the basement. Soon this area will be cleaned up, painted and the ceiling tiles replaced.

We are reusing the two massive wood tables from the old Palmer Room. In the picture on the left, one of the tables is shown upended for repairs. The tables will be refinished in a stain to match the bookcases in the Palmer Room.

Here is a corner of the new reading room. The sheetrock has been prepared for the next step, which is painting and the installation of new bookcases.

Week 6 and week 7

2008-07-07T10:39:00.018-04:00

Several weeks have gone by since the last blog entry for the special collections and archives project and much progress is evident. Today is the beginning of the 8th week. A lot of the infrastructure is in place. Sheetrock covers many of the walls. The Lear Center is taking shape and although not yet in move-in condition, we can really get a sense of what it is going to look like.

In the photograph on the right you can see the mechanism for the sprinkler system that has been installed in the stack area of special collections and archives.

The photo on the left shows the new offices with sheetrock and doorways. Each office has a window. The windows are boarded up right now so that they can be used as outside entrances for construction material hauled up from delivery trucks and, of course, for debris going to the dumpster.

In the photos below there is a view of the Palmer Room from the new reading room and another shows the insulation in the walls of the stack area.

Getting large construction material up to the second floor

2008-06-11T13:46:00.013-04:00

One of the challenges of this project is to get building material upstairs, especially if it is too big to take on the elevator or too heavy and cumbersome to carry up the stairs. Here are some solutions to the problem.

Moving out of Special Collections

2008-06-11T13:28:00.005-04:00

In case you are wondering what we did with the 40,000+ books and hundreds of boxes and other items that were housed in Special Collections before the renovation project began, here are some pictures. The William B. Meyer Library Relocation company was hired to move the collections to locked and air conditioned storage in the Haines Room on the second floor of the library where they will remain inaccessible to staff and to researchers until they are moved into new quarters at the end of August.

Week 3

2008-06-09T11:11:00.004-04:00

By the end of the third week of the Special Collections and Archives Project the basic outline of the new space has been roughed out. In this picture you can see the framework of the two staff offices.

In the meanwhile, work continues in the cramped quarters of the College archives on the third floor of Shain Library, now also the temporary home of special collections. In this picture you can see a volunteer, a student assistant and a researcher working on three separate projects.

Floor Plan of the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives

2008-06-04T12:13:00.003-04:00

The renovation of Special Collections and Archives includes a large section of compact storage which will double the space for storage of materials. It provides ample seating for researchers. There will be two offices for staff as well as a large workroom for processing collections and for working on projects out of the public eye. The Palmer Room will provide space for classes using material from special collections and the college archives. Built-in exhibit cases and ample wall space will make it possible to mount interesting exhibits of art work and books. The availability of lockers and a closet just outside the reading room will enhance security.

Architectural rendering of the new reading room

2008-06-03T10:56:00.006-04:00

This is an architectural rendering of the new reading room in the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives with the Palmer Room in the background.The rendering was created by Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture and Engineering, P.C.

Welcome!

2008-06-02T13:36:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a very generous gift from Linda Lear, member of the Board of Trustees and of the Class of 1962, the dream of creating an expanded Special Collections and Archives that will integrate the functions of Special Collections and the College Archives into one large unit will come true over the summer of 2008. The new Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives will feature a beautiful and large new reading room for researchers with exhibition space for books and artworks; an improved seminar room (the Palmer Room) with audiovisual capability for classes using material from Special Collections and Archives; expanded office and processing areas; and a doubling of the stack space available for storing material, including compact shelving.

The new Lear Center will improve the efficiency of Special Collections and the College Archives, currently on two different floors of the library, by merging their locations. It will make it possible to schedule classes in the Palmer Room and to do research in the new reading room at the same time. The new facility will provide enhanced security as well as improved climate control and preservation of materials.

The construction and renovation project began on the day after Commencement and will continue over the summer. It will be finished in time for the beginning of fall semester classes, thus creating minimal disruption of the academic schedule. The project was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott and the Konover Construction Company is carrying out the work.

2008-06-02T13:23:00.002-04:00

2008-06-02T13:20:00.001-04:00