If you’ve braved the renovation warzone and visited the Morris Miller Library this semester, you might have noticed some changes. Like half of the second floor being blocked off, dust in the air, some interesting aromas and builders nested outside (not saying that the smell and builders came as a package, but it’s possible). Perhaps you even saw asbestos removal warning signs. What, you might be wondering, is going on? And isn’t exposure to asbestos like, multi-million dollar lawsuit material? Get me a lawyer, pronto!

The asbestos was removed from the new reference section, which is soon to take up a large portion of the second floor. Karmen Pemberton, librarian-in-chief at Morris Miller, says students were never in any danger from this process - the area was sealed and the asbestos was solid, not airborne. When more asbestos was found in the breezeway outside the library, the area was again sealed off and the offending material professionally removed. Health concerns have been taken well into account, with regular air quality tests undertaken to ensure that the library, even at its dustiest, was safe to inhabit. Sorry to disappoint all of the vexatious litigants out there.

So what is taking so long? Coupled with the plaza renovation happening outside, the work represents a serious (if temporary) change to the normal patterns of student life on the Sandy Bay campus, causing some students to avoid uni more than usual. The timing of the renovation is unfortunate but, Karmen says, was unavoidable. Time limits on the Rudd funding for the project prevented it from being undertaken over the past summer break, even if the university could have found builders willing to work in January rather than enjoy Thailand’s Full Moon festivities. And while the timing of the simultaneous development happening outside is “unfortunate”, it too could not be avoided. Progress updates are still being posted on the library’s blog (http://blogs.utas.edu.au/library/) as well as in the library itself, to ensure that everyone is on the same page. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“We just have to keep on focusing on what this will achieve,” says Pemberton. “And it’s going to be significant.”

It’s not an exaggeration. The renovation will bring about some long-awaited changes to the library - first and foremost, 24 hour access to levels two and three. “We open at 8:30, we know students want to get in before, because they want to print assignments and check email and everything,” Karmen says. Increased demands on students’ time are being taken into account - the library knows that its 10PM closing time is often when students, often busy with jobs outside of university, are starting to study.
 
The renovation is based around the idea of staying true to the original design of the library by John Scarborough, a widely respected 20th Century modernist also responsible for the State Library in Hobart. The innovative T-shaped building will still house the majority of its students around its edges, utilising natural light for study and scenic views for procrastination. At the same time, the project seeks to modernise the building to suit increased demand.
 
“When Scarborough designed [the Library] it was for a student population of 2,000, and we now understand that Morris Miller supports 12,000” explains Karmen. New computers, an expanded reference section housing 50 individual seats and new air conditioning will be installed. Perhaps most importantly for those students who have hunted in vain for somewhere to plug in their laptop, Karmen has a surprise for you. “We haven’t got enough power points, and boy am I going to fix this one!” she says. The aim is to install four power points per student, at least in the reference section. Probably slightly overcompensating, but it’s an addition that all students will appreciate.
The nearby Law and Science Libraries have experienced increased traffic this semester, but Karmen is confident that the refurbished Morris Miller will win back students when it is completed - hopefully in September. There is a real sense that something excellent will come out of the redevelopment, this is just the proposed start of greater accessibility. There are future plans to increase group study spaces and maybe even provide a safe haven for those of us who insist on absolute silence: Karmen envisages a glassed-in ‘cone of silence’, where mobile phones and laptops are not permitted.

But that’s in the future. For now, she urges library-goers to tough out the construction and wait for the final result. “It’s a pain now - it’s a pain for everybody. There’s a long way to go still,” she says. “But it will be beautiful”.

By Jessica Lyndon & Alex Morris