By SUSAN JONES
The contents and services that will be available on the ground floor of Hillman Library when it reopens early next year are starting to take shape.
Jeff Wisniewski, associate University librarian for communications and technology, said the ground floor will seem much bigger because more of the area will be open to the public. Before the renovations, about half of the ground floor was for staff only, and now only 10 percent will be behind the scenes.
“We had always had plans for some of these spaces on the ground floor, but only now are they firmed up enough that we want to talk about them,” Wisniewski said.
Gina Bleck, vice chancellor for planning, design and construction, said there have been a few minor delays in construction that have moved completion of the fourth and final phase of the library renovations from November 2024 to January 2025.
For the first two weeks in May, the building entrance will be modified, but will continue to have access from Forbes Avenue, including an ADA ramp.
During the summer and fall, access to stairs and elevators will change as needed to accommodate construction. Permanent new restrooms will be added ahead of the renovation of existing restrooms. When complete, the library will have greatly increased men’s and women’s restroom capacity, in addition to new single-occupant restrooms throughout the building
Media production
The main attraction on the ground floor will be a whole suite of of media production spaces, which will include a light- and sound-controlled black box film studio with a removable green screen.
That will be right next to the audiovisual equipment lending library, where you can get everything you need to film in the studio. Wisniewski said this program, which has been around for several years, is very popular, with around 20,000 circulations of audio-video kits a year.
A sound-controlled audio recording space will be available for podcasts or digital narratives or re-recording sound for films. Two high-end editing booths will allow users more options than commonly available film and audio editing software. There will be surround-sound audio and color correction software, lighting and monitors available. A one-button studio, which was available before the renovations, will be returning.
“That is the very easy walk up, you plug in a thumb drive, record yourself in HD, but you don’t have to know anything about lighting or setup. It’s sort of plug and play,” Wisniewski said.
Other new spaces
Technology lab: This partnership with Pitt IT will include a computer lab, like the ones Pitt IT runs at seven other locations on campus, including in the Cathedral of Learning. Pitt IT also will have a drop-in help desk. And Wisniewski said they’re working with Pitt IT to offer large-format printing services for those who need to print posters or other items for conferences or presentations.
Digital scholarship lab: The librarians and staff who have expertise in digital scholarship will be based here and available for drop-in consultations. They also will offer various kinds of workshops and programming around digital methods in research and scholarship, including text mining, data visualization, digital mapping and more.
“People still write papers for class, but they’re just as likely today to be asked to create a digital map of food deserts in Pittsburgh, as they are to write 10 pages on food deserts in Pittsburgh,” Wisniewski said. “These are services that the library offers to support these these digital methods in scholarship for faculty, staff and students.”
Digital interactive wall: Another digital wall, like the one in Hillman’s third floor archives and special collections space, will be situated on the first floor in an alcove near the stairwell. It will be dedicated to showcasing the research that’s happening at the University, by faculty and by graduate and undergraduate students. Wisniewski said the library will work with researchers on translating their work into a digital medium and into a way that’s understandable to laymen.
“We are a part of the research ecosystem at the University, and so we want to play a role in highlighting the really interesting and groundbreaking research that happens at the University as a matter of course,” he said. The other goal is to help researchers develop skills to explain their work concisely and “in human understandable terms.”
The wall will be about the same size as the one on the third floor. It will have its own space but be visible from many parts of the library. Wisniewski said they anticipate inviting researchers to give lightning talks on the information displayed on the wall.
Study areas: There will be more reservable group study spaces on the ground floor, bring the total to between 75 and 100 in the library. There also will be plenty of open seating.
Other areas: The K. Leroy Irvis Room and the Latin American Room, which had been on the first floor before the renovations, will now be on the ground floor. There also will be instruction rooms for classes offered by the library.
New entrance
A new atrium glass entrance at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Schenley Drive will have a direct sight line to the Cathedral of Learning.
Bleck said steel will start to arrive for the entrance at the end of April, and once it arrives that part of the project with move quickly.
“There’s more people places and less book places in libraries today,” she said. “In that regard, more light is warranted and it’ll be exciting.”
Even now, before the final phase is completed, she said, “It’s heartwarming and rewarding to see all the students so intense and using every nook and cranny of the space and really enjoying it.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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