The university community is invited to participate in planning for the Fenwick Library addition. The following Open Forums for students, faculty and staff members are scheduled at the Johnson Center Library Instruction Room, Room 228:
Faculty & Staff
- Wednesday, April 15th, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 28th, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 13th, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Undergraduate Students
- Wednesday, April 15th, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 27th, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Graduate Students
- Thursday, April 16th, 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 27th, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Open Forum participants will meet with the project team, consisting of representatives from the University Libraries, Facilities and the architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch. If you cannot attend the Open Forum meetings, please tell us what you think by posting your comments to this website.
In any workspace/research spaces designed for students, including carrels, I strongly suggest:
1) Easy access to electric outlets to facilitate use of laptop computers; stringing electric cords across an area across which people walk is dangerous.
2) A secure access point easily accessible to each desk or workspace location to allow laptop computers to be secured using a security cable. currently, I am forced to secure my computer with my security cable to my chair or a fixture not intended for this purpose; this can be dangerous to me (it’s too easy to trip) and the computer (which can be easily pulled off the desk or table). Any laptop computer left unsecured is likely to be stolen.
Here’s a plan… With the economy in the toilet; why not put a halt on the excessive building/construction? GMU is the largest campus in VA, but clearly not the best… Mostly due to the endless construction. Students are getting Master’s degrees and not seeing a break in construction. Biggest does not equal best! UVA is revered as the best VA has to offer yet possess some of the oldest facilities of any campus. I think it is time for GMU to begin to focus on the students’ quality of life, and give up on the decadence…
If we need more library space, okay. But PLEASE can we stop building “The Jetson’s” themed facilities? There is something very noble, welcoming, and permanent-feeling about Romanesque architecture, and what better place to use it than a library? There’s a reason it has persisted for thousands of years. I’m just tired of all this ultra-modern cold glass and steel.
I too do not like cold glass and steel, particularly, in a library. I like wood and color and, maybe, a curve or two, colored carpet and a relatively small space. I find the JC library to be a beautiful blue library. Also, at JC the reference librarian sits at a table in the middle of the room.
In Fenwick everyone who is studying or working there looks tired. And there was non stop chit-chat from people on couches outside the reference divide and in a copy room next to it that was not part of the library but was there any way. I went to Fenwick three times and not again. Even being forced to use notepad.exe to do my hw doesn’t stop me from using JC.
More individual study rooms would be helpful. Right now there aren’t enough to keep up with the demand during the more busy hours.
I also agree with what the past two commenters have said about the cold steel look of the buildings currently being built on campus. This look is great for a visual arts building but I think a library should look more like a library, like the look of most of the buildings on the University of Maryland College Park campus.
However, the most important thing, in my opinion, would be the environmental impact of this construction on the campus. Minimizing loss of trees around the building, particularly in the wooded area between Fenwick, Robinson, and King Hall should be something considered in the renovations of the library. I really think George Mason needs to keep its remaining green spaces green, for the sake of environmental conservation as well as for the appearance of the campus. Don’t follow the trend that the new housing developments (Southside, Chesapeake, Blue Ridge, etc.) have taken where vast swaths of land are needlessly covered in concrete.
I agree with Ashley and the others that a classic architectural style would be welcomed, but let’s face it, we’re talking about an addition to an existing building. Romanesque architecture is beautiful, and to me it evokes a sense of dignity and scholarliness…but alas, our campus doesn’t employ this style, and the Shepley Bulfinch firm does not design it either (it seems). The firm does have very impressive modern designs that will mesh with the existing style though…so I wish them well; I’m sure they’ll impress.
I love the new modern, glass windows and designs of the new buildings they’ve built. GMU as you know it is located in Fairfax; smacked in the middle of technology central and minutes away from the capital of the world. We need modern buildings that adhere to the fast pace attitude that GMU embodies in its various academic disciplines and daily life. I do agree though that the library should take more of a central proportional design with one main entrance and alot of wood inside. I would also like to add though that we can have best of both worlds with a Romanesque themed design implemented into a modern building.
In support of stressed-out, distance challenged, and multi-tasking commuter students, could the library PLEASE have a deposit/drop off box for books after hours?
I agree with Justin’s comments, and would like to add a few of my own.
As one of the largest universities within the range of the nation’s capital, Mason should be a shining example, to the world, of environmental responsibility and sustainability. While the Office of Sustainability, which is fortunate enough to be lead by the brilliant Lenna Storm, continues to make large strides towards reducing Mason’s impact on the environment, all that hard work could be negatively offset by irresponsible building practices.
A university’s library is, without a doubt, one of its most salient and important structures. The advent of a new library in the near future is an invaluable opportunity for Mason, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, to lead the way, or at least keep up, with the nation’s leading universities, in terms of environmental responsibility. Several key steps could be taken towards this goal.
First of all, a green roof should not even be a question, it should be mandatory. Considering the fact that a small forest will be cleared to make room for the library, a green roof will go a long way in preventing runoff into the nearby streams, etc. The rainwater which is presently absorbed into the forest floor must be prevented from adding to the huge volume of runoff created by impermeable surfaces on campus. Also, greening the roof would offset some of the CO2 absorbing ecosystem services that will be lost when the forest is cut down. While I understand that the forest has to be cleared to make way for this building, we have to acknowledge that we will greatly increasing Mason’s carbon footprint, which goes against President Merten’s climate commitment.
A green roof could also provide research opportunities for students, in terms of urban agriculture. The new library could also serve as a lab for rooftop farming, even vertical agriculture along the side of the building.
It should go without saying the building materials and interior furnishings of the building should utilize recycled/reclaimed material, so that’s all I will say about that.
A green roof is a great idea! If it was designed so that students could go up there to study, I would actually start using the Fenwick library. As it is now, it’s too dreary and dark to study in (obviously, I don’t speak for everyone). Whenever I have to get a book, I always go to the JC library first, with hope it carries the book. If the book is kept in Fenwick, I take a deep breath, say good-bye to the beautiful, big windows of the JC library, and run in and out of Fenwick as soon as possible. I prefer to study in the JC at its noisiest than in Fenwick, as it is now. So I guess what I’m saying is: windows, light, fresh air, and maybe some color.
Also, it’d be great if there was a way to print Word documents on a library computer. Maybe it’s just low-tech me, but I can never open word documents in my email and print them at the library.
Also, a small cafe or coffee bar would be amazing!
OPEN 24 HOURS!!!
A University is not a University without a 24 Hour Library!!
I don’t really care how big it is, what it looks like or if it isn’t perfect, but I would like to be able to study and concentrate on my school work on my own schedule. I believe I have paid for that much, as for the rest I am sure there is a team of fully capable professionals that understand how big, self-sufficient and well designed it should be(though I do kind of like the professional feel that there is in there right now)
Just please, 24 HOURS!!!
I have to disagree with Paul - Mason’s Administration worked hard for years to line up the resources to secure the much needed development and enhancements at its main campus. If the economy is in a rough patch - why stop the construction and all the jobs it creates?? Your point makes no sense.
I like the modern - neo-colonial designs at the Fairfax campus. The new buildings are airy and bright and look professional. They have managed to implement curves and columns in the buildings - I think the fact they are taking the time to get input from all the stakeholders is great. The library will be a capital building on the campus and will fit in with the overall master plan for the Fairfax campus.
I think the design should include adequate quiet study space, computer labs as well as sufficient storage for the stacks and library collections that will be housed in the new building.
I look forward to see what the architects come up with.
I agree with the comments about a 24 HR designated area for study. Actually, another large room or even building devoted to just study tables (for groups and individual) and plenty of outlet access would be great. This new large study room or building can even be split by a glass wall, or whatever, in two: strictly silent studying, and moderate volume studying (for group studying, akin to JC’s 2nd and 3rd group tables). I just feel we need an accessible studying zone that’s open 24 hours. JC’s study areas get loud and cramped and plus, the wireless there is very unreliable at peak times. As B. Tingent has stated, the 24HR availability is critical.
Wishful thinking: a room with hammocks and futons for taking naps during studying binges. University of Hawaii does this. I know we’re in a place nothing like Hawaii, but the idea is still cool. I’ve slept on Mason carpets before - it hurts.