When students walk into the Reinert-Alumni Library next fall, the building will have a whole new look.

The new campaign for Creighton University’s College of Business, “Ignite the Greatness,” affects and changes seven campus buildings, including the Reinert-Alumni Library.

The library will undergo multiple changes before next fall, most notably on the upper and lower levels. Space for other programs of the university need to be placed in the library in order for the College of Business to be housed completely in the Harper Center.

The clearing of the northeast corner of the upper level of the library has already started so the space can be used for offices of the Interdisciplinary Ed. D. Program in Leadership. Over fall break, the print journal collections were reduced and placed online. In the next few months, the governmental documents will be moved to the lower level to create more space upstairs.

The Interdisciplinary Ed. D. Program in Leadership is a post-masters or post-professional degree program for “individuals holding mid-level leadership positions to prepare for an executive leadership position” in education, business, health professions or non-profit organizations, according to the program’s website.

Those associated with the program are excited about the move of the offices.

“As a doctoral program, we use the library’s services very frequently … the library serves as a resource to preserve and provide access to research, scholarship and creative works to facilitate a wide range of scholarly and archival activities,” Isabelle D. Cherney, the director of the program, said. “What a great place to house a doctoral program.”

In addition to offices upstairs, space will be cleared on the lower level of the library for other university offices.  These offices are to be completed by September.

To make space in the lower level, compact shelving, along with new lights for the shelving, will be installed by the end of February.

“Compact shelving, also known as mobile shelving, eliminates the need for an aisle between every row. Thus the shelving takes up less space, ” said Michael LaCroix, the senior director of the Reinert-Alumni Library. “The ranges are placed on carriages so that they are moveable and can be placed next to each other. With the push of a button, as aisle is created and a student can retrieve the desired book.”

While compact shelving is being installed, the lower level of the library will be closed from Dec. 17 and into the new year. Students and faculty will still have access to items stored in the lower level of the library upon request, according to LaCroix.

Other changes include a shift in collections of library materials. The Juvenile collection and Curriculum Lab will soon be moved to the upper level of the library, while the current periodicals and newspapers will be moved to the main level, and the governmental documents will be stored in compact shelving in the lower level, according to LaCroix.

New lighting, carpeting and furniture will be installed in the upper level of the library throughout the spring semester.

“Some study areas in the library are underutilized because of poor lighting and 1960s or 1980s furniture,” LaCroix said. “With improved lighting and contemporary furniture we should be able to enhance the remaining space so that it helps meet the needs of our students.”

The library staff is glad that these changes are taking place because it allows them to create a better space that meets the needs of students.

“The staff is actively engaged in brainstorming new possibilities for the library space,” LaCroix said. “It is our intention to create a space which engages student learning.”

written by: Madeline Zukowski