The J.D. Williams Library is undergoing interior renovations including upgrading the air conditioning systems to prevent mold, reupholstering chairs and polling students’ opinions on accent wall colors.
Head of Library Facilities Stan Whitehorn said the biggest additions to the interior of the library are choosing accent wall colors and adding more chairs and tables to the library.
“When the Union closed down for its major makeover, they had a lot of furniture that had to go,” Whitehorn said. “They graciously offered it to the library, and we accepted.”
The library acquired 373 new chairs and 70 tables from the Union, which brings its total number of seats to more than 1,000. Some of the bright red chairs from the Union’s second-floor Subway found a new home in the library.
Whitehorn said older chairs in the library are also being reupholstered, and about two dozen have been done so far with another two dozen waiting.
In the next six weeks, workers will also paint the building’s interior walls. Whitehorn said he and his team have yet to chose what color will replace the walls’ current white coat.
“We are about to have different sample panels, 2 feet by 4 feet, painted up, and they will be put around the library,” Whitehorn said. “For two weeks we’ll let whoever wants to vote for the colors.”
Students can give their opinion about the sample panel colors, and then library staff will meet with an interior designer to make a decision based on what students, faculty and employees said about the colors.
Business major Linda Ohairwe said she would prefer if the library did not add accent colors because of the way she prefers to study.
“I think it’d be distracting, and I need plain colors surrounding me while I study,” Ohairwe said. “I can’t have any distractions. That’s why I like the library as it is.”
Library staff has identified five or six walls on the first and second floor it would like to accent with color. Students who are distracted by colored walls can choose to study on the third floor, which will remain white. Whitehorn said he wants to make sure the right colors are picked so they bring about the right mood.
The Baxter Room, a large study area on the second floor, will serve as the main student polling place on the color choice. There will also be a whiteboard roaming throughout the library, which can be voted on through a mobile device. The whiteboard’s first post will be outside of Starbucks, which Whitehorn said attracts an audience likely to vote.
Senior broadcast journalism and Spanish major Rachel Anderson said she plans to take the poll because she wants to make sure her opinion will count.
“I would hope to see relaxing and calming colors like light blues and greens,” Anderson said.
The library’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are also under renovation after last year’s mold bloom on some of the paper documents in the special collections department. Whitehorn said that fortunately, library staff was able to intervene before there was any significant damage to any of the materials.
Last year’s high humidity proved too much for the outdated HVAC system, and it could not properly circulate air throughout the building, leaving a moldy trail.
“We had it tested, and it wasn’t a black mold, which everyone was afraid of,” Whitehorn said. “It was just a normal, common everyday mold you would have anywhere in the South.”
Facilities management has already cleaned and serviced all 50 units in the building’s old wing and looked at the HVAC system in the entire facility. Whitehorn said staff would like to maintain about a 70-degree environment so it doesn’t get too humid and create an environment where mold can grow back.
“We’re just going to keep on with the way we’re doing,” Whitehorn said. “All these interior renovations are taking up a lot of our time and our effort to do that. We’re just trying to respond to budgetary needs.”
