Library closed; services move to Faner Hall

SIUC officials decided on Tuesday, April 18, to close Morris Library at least through May 1. Staffers will provide critical services to students at Faner Hall, Room 1024, one of the University's central computer laboratories.

Open forum Monday

Library Affairs Dean David Carlson and Plant and Service Operations Director Philip Gatton will be available to answer questions about the library, the construction process and how it will affect students, faculty and staff at 3 p.m. Monday, April 24. The open forum will take place in Quigley Hall, Room 140B.

Library staffers are offering reference, circulation and reserve room services in the laboratory that is on the first floor near entrances to the Student Center. Students and faculty can pick up materials and return materials there.

Patrons can request materials from the reserve room immediately, but library staffers will not be able to enter Morris to retrieve reserve materials until late Thursday or early Friday.

Hours for the Faner facility will be from 7:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday; from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday; and from 1 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. About 80 percent of the library's collection is at the McLafferty Annex and students and faculty will continue to have access to the materials and computer facilities there.

Moving the library services to the computer laboratory reflects the electronic nature of library materials today. Patrons primarily access catalogs, search engines and other services online. Library affairs staff will continue to help students and faculty with various needs from the new location.

On Monday an expanse of exterior bricks fell away from the sixth and seventh floors on the west side of the building and crashed through the roof of the third floor of the original structure.

No one was hurt, but there was substantial damage to the third-floor rooftop.

Morris Library is undergoing a major renovation and expansion. A structural engineer examined the building on Tuesday. The University closed the building based on his recommendations and will not reopen it to the general public until the rest of the exterior brick is removed.

"Our first concern is safety for students," said library affairs Dean David Carlson. "We will work with the contractors to provide services to the best of our ability until the rest of the exterior brick is removed."

Before that happens, the contractor will add extra support structures to the second and third floors of the building.

The University built Morris Library in two phases. Floors one through three opened in the mid-1950s and have a larger footprint. Floors four through seven opened in the mid-1960s and create the building's signature tower.

-- Sue Davis