Newspaper Page Text
Spelman Spotlight
Page 3
February 1982
Robert W.
Woodruff Library
Reactions To A New Library
Bv Learned Dees
Contributing Writer
When the Robert W.
Woodruff Library opened in
January of 1982, you may have
found that the building itself was
very beautiful, inside and out,
but you may also have found that
there was one very important
thing that was lacking books.
All persons involved in the
project agree now that the
building is complete, the ac
quisition of resources will
become a priority. A recent
survey of college libraries in the
Atlanta area revealed that
Georgia State and Georgia Tech
libraries hold well over two
million volumes. However, the
new AUC library may hold less
than one- fourth that number.
“When we open in January, it
is estimated that our library will
house between 300,000 and
600,000 volumes. I think we will
be doing well if we have 450,000
volumes once duplications, etc.
have been weeded out,” accor
ding to Prince Rivers, the Robert
W. Woodruff Library project
coordinator.
“Each of the six institutions will
contribute their holdings,” River
added.
The library will have to seek
outside help to fill its shelves.
The current estimates show that
the shelves will be only 30 to 50
percent full.
“The library is dynamic,”
Atlanta University Center Inc.
Chancellor Charles Meredith
said. “An acquisition program
for additional resources will be
ongoing. It will take a long time,
perhaps twenty years, before we
can fill the shelves with the target
number of books- one million.”
A Dream Come True?
The $18 million, co- operative
project known as the Robert W
Woodruff Library is a culmina
tion of 10 years of planning. All
six Atlanta University institutions
have contributed in the effort to
establish the new library.
The dream did not become a
reality until Robert W.
Woodruff, former president of
Coca-Cola and well known
Atlanta philanthropist, donated
$7 million to aid in the construc
tion cost of the building.
Since the actual construction
phase got underway in late 1979,
there have been various
. problems involving adequate
financial resources. AUC Provost
and project director, Prince
Rivers, acknowledged that mak
ing ends meet has been a rough
task.
In a recent interview, Rivers
stated that, "Once the initial
construction was underway, we
realized that there would not be
enough funds to complete the
lower level. It was too much
space to leave vacant so we
decided to lease the space to the
Clark College Department of
Mass Communication. This turn
ed out to be beneficial to all
involved.”
The deal that was struck
between the library and the
Clark College Mass Com
munications department was in
the form of a 20 year, non
renewable lease, according to
Rivers.
Sources close to the project
estimate that the 99.000 square
feet of space will cost Clark
College $1.63 million.
Having the Clark College Mass
Communications department as
tenants in the new library
building has helped ease the
many financial worries tem
porarily.
Consulting architect, Carl
Trimble noted that many of the
financial problems were brought
on by the building committee
which gave the final apprpval for
the materials to be used for
construction.
"A lot of the items used go
beyond functionalism,” Trimble
said. "A library is not measured
by how it looks, but by the
resources it contains,” he added.
“The marble floors, the special
skylight and atrium, the carpeted
walls, the fountain and the
electric flagpole are a few of the
items that could be considered
beyond the realm of essential
items.”
Atlanta University Center, Inc.
Chancellor Charles Meredith
denies any financial im
proprieties. “I am surprised that
anyone would say that certain
things in this library are ex
travagant,” said Meredith.
“When the materials were
chosen we weighed the durabili
ty and the maintenance factors
involved. This library is intended
to last 50 years and durability and
low maintenance will pay off for
themselves. The carpet on the
wall is a prime example. If we had
left the walls bare, we would
have to paint them every couple
of years. This way will eliminate
painting altogether.” He also
added, "The skylight was chosen
to give natural light and it is
aesthetically pleasing. The foun
tain also has aesthetic qualities.
We cut as few corners as
necessary.”
When asked if the money
j some of the “aesthetically pleas-
I ing” items is interesting. A
reliable source has disclosed that
the marble used in construction
cost about one-half million
dollars, the skylight and its
specially cut glass- almost one
million, and the fountain almost
$300,000. The electric flagpole,
which Meredith initially denied
knowledge of, is estimated to
4 cost $3,00 and the list goes on.
photo by Whitney Young
spentonthe“aesthetically pleas
ing” items might have been
better spent for essential items
such as books, Meredith stated
that there was no choice. "It was
a capital project. The money was
donated by individuals and was
intended for the actual building
itself, not books. There was only
one grant from a corporation for
book acquisition. That corpora
tion gave the money to convert
the current holdings to machine
readable for,.”
While there are no questions
of financial improprieties con
cerning materials, the cost of
"and I think that the public has a
right to know how the $15
million was spent whether it be
wisely or otherwise."
Library officials declined to
make available a copy of the
budget with its itemized listing.
They said that the cost may be
misleading.
The shortage of books,
however, remains, and accor
ding to an instructor who asked
not to be identified, “the library
is not complete because without
adequate resources all you have
is a pretty building.”
by Karen Burroughs
Veronica Green
In January 1982, after a year ot
construction, the Woodruff
Library, serving all of the schools
in the Atlanta University Center,
was opened to students.
Students had mixed reactions
about the new library, though
most are in agreement about its
unique structure. The many
responses to the new library
were:
"It’s a beautiful structure, but
at the same time, we don't have
the necessary materials, then it’s
no good-it’s just a beautiful
structure,” saysMadelyn Rogers,
a sophomore at Spelman.
“I like it,” agrees Dorthy
Forman, also of Spelman.
“However, they could have put
money into the resources and
books rather than the ex
travagance.”
A major complaint about the
library is its location and the
possible dangers it presents.
“ The only thing I don’t like is
that it is kind of far away and
rather dangerous for students
who are by themselves,” agrees
Sonia Bell, a Spelman freshman.
Students also feel that the
library should not have opened
before it was completed, as there
are sections which are not yet
open to students, and students
are not allowed to check out
books.
“I don’t think they should
have opened it right now,” says
Princess Cooper. “They should
have waited until it was better
equipped for all of us.”
The main advantage men
tioned by students was the
unifying effect that the library
brings to the AUC.
"It was a good idea to put all of
the libraries in one building,”
says Yetta Harvey. “It gives the
AUC students a much needed
chance to get reacquainted with
each other.”
“I’m a computer science major
and the computer room is now
located in the basement of the
new library,”saysTerri Bradley,a
sophomore at Spelman.
photo by Whitney Young