August 23, 2019
Home Sweet Hale: First-floor study space opens Wednesday
Submitted by Sarah McGreer Hoyt
It's been 15 long months since the May 2018 fire closed Hale Library, but we are pleased to announce that most of the first floor will open on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
This fall, the Dave & Ellie Everitt Learning Commons on Hale Library's first floor will be devoted to study space. You'll have access to hundreds of seats, including 14 reservable collaboration rooms. Multiple printers and a scanner will also be available.
We are also excited to announce the return of 24/5 hours later this semester.
"The renovation allowed us to make some strategic decisions about how Hale Library functions," said Lori Goetsch, dean of Libraries. "One of the improvements that will be obvious right away is that we reconfigured the entrances. Now we'll be able to open just the first floor and close off stairways to the rest of the building, which will make monitoring 24-hour access more manageable and affordable."
Initially, the building hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 1-5 p.m. Saturday; and 1-10 p.m. Sunday.
As soon as staffing is in place, we will transition to the 24/5 schedule: Hale Library will be open 1-5 p.m. Saturday, then open at 1 p.m. on Sunday and remain open round-the-clock until Friday evening.
Since the Hale Library renovation is ongoing, construction noise is expected.
This is just the first step in our multiphase restoration and renovation project. Most of the second floor is scheduled to open at the beginning of the spring 2020 semester, and the entire renovation is slated for completion by the end of 2020.
Library Help Desk services, including textbooks on reserve and interlibrary loan, will still be located in the K-State Student Union and at the branch library locations. IT Help will also remain on the second floor of the Student Union during the fall semester.
The vast majority of Hale Library's physical collection materials are still being cleaned and are located in off-site storage. Please use interlibrary loan to request materials that are not available.