Copley gets necessary update
USD library renovations finally adjust to the needs of modern students
Eric Boose / Opinion Editor / The USD Vista
When it was first constructed in the 1980s, Copley Library was an ideal college library. Filled by thousands upon thousands of books and journals while still boasting swaths of spaces for students to immerse themselves in the volumes, Copley matched with the traditional, “ivory tower” approach to academia. Based on the old design of the library, the approach emphasized individual study. Clearly, “ivory tower” academia was born in an era long before current technologies even existed, let alone were widely adopted by students.
Three decades after its initial construction, Copley’s design has become ineffective in meeting the needs of 21st century students. It should be made clear, the resources the university fitted Copley with in the 1980s have not dropped in quality. Instead, the need for those resources has decreased significantly. As we drive further into the 21st century and the technological revolution continues, Copley Library, and others like it, must adapt to the changing needs of students. If the renovation goes according to plan, it will.
The first and foremost of these changes occurred thanks to the increasing availability of laptop computers; more and more students are abandoning the use of pen and paper in their studies, with some even managing to take notes, read textbooks, and write papers using solely their computer. However, computer batteries cannot last forever, making access to power a necessity for modern study spaces. While Copley’s old design certainly had outlets available, some were hard to access, and some no longer actually provided electricity. In redesigning the library, the university has actively considered access to power. Grids of outlets will be built into the floor, enabling students to plug in no matter where they are sitting.
As students have updated their study habits, so too have professors updated some of their teaching methods. Online practice software is replacing or supplementing paper homework, especially in business, science, and language classes. Blackboard has become ubiquitous at the University of San Diego and countless other institutions. For students with computers, adapting to digital assignments is relatively easy. For students without their own computers, doing homework includes the additional step of finding a computer with which to do it. While computer labs in Olin Hall and Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall already make technology available to students who need it, Copley is further increasing availability with rentable laptops.
With the increasingly digital nature of college, libraries, especially those on college campuses, must do more than simply be book-filled study spaces. Students are in need of digital resources more than books, whether those resources be more accessible power outlets or digital access to more databases and journals.
As learning has become increasingly more digital, it has also become increasingly more collaborative. Certainly, the days of quiet, individual study are far from gone. In the planning of Copley’s redesign, one of the most common requests from students was increased group study spaces. Where before Copley was completely meant for silent study, the redesign not only includes reservable group study rooms, but aims to create open spaces for students to study together. This new open space is not meant to be inherently loud, but the hope is that students will not feel confined to silence.
In modernizing, Copley Library will sacrifice traditional appearance for improved utility. Where the library used to be centered around its vast collection of books, the space once dominated by shelves will soon be left open, save for new furniture. The new focus of the library will be on providing students the resources and space that they desire for their studies, both independent and collaborative. While the redesigned library comes with a shift in purpose, it does not leave its long-held thousands of books behind. The main floor will still feature a few low bookshelves, reminding students that Copley is still a library. The stacks of books underneath the Mother Hill Reading Room — better known as the Harry Potter Room — will remain, and will be updated in order to hold a higher volume of books than before. Ultimately, some books will remain off site, but not out of reach of students.
We live in an increasingly digital age. The renovations Copley undergoes this year may be outdated in another thirty or forty years, possibly fewer. However, these renovations are necessary and even exemplary for other libraries. A library has long been, and should continue to be, a concentrated source of knowledge, a repository of information, and a reliable study spot. As the ways people process and develop knowledge, access information, and study continue to change, so too must libraries.