Official Announcement : We’re Moving!!!
June 4, 2016/
The secret is out! In September 2016 there will be a new Durland Alternatives Library. Right across the hall in the One World Cafe – with a stage, an open floor plan, and completely accessible.
I’ve been getting tons of questions since announcing this on our email list. So here are some answers.
The New & Improved Durland Alternatives Library
my sketch of the new design
We’ve always been a little cramped tucked into the corner of Anabel Taylor Hall. Our collection has outgrown the space, and there’s little to no place for our guests (yes that’s you) to hang around, study, relax, or collaborate in meaningful ways.
It’s all about to change.
Our dreams have come true – we’re moving to the cafe space across the hall, a space three times the size. The new library will have:
- an open floor plan
- an events venue
- a cafe (light refreshments at all times)
- and a regular events schedule.
We’re taking requests:
Do you have an idea for how we can setup the new library for success? We’re taking requests from our list members – requests for features of the new library. Join our list to get in on this.
Bound For Glory and the Durland Alternatives Library
Bound for Glory – Live Folk Broadcast
Bound for Glory has hosted over 1,200 shows over four decades, using the One World Cafe as it’s venue for live folk music. They’re the longest running live folk music program in North America. Can you believe it? My parents brought me up at those concerts. I would run off and tuck myself amongst the books at the Durland Alternatives Library reading fantasy novels during the show.
Don’t fret, Bound For Glory is here to stay! In fact, consideration for events is so integrated into the design that we’re investing in mobile shelving units that we can arrange for various occasions.
And did I mention refreshments?
Refreshments, not just for events:
Finally we can have our own mini-cafe at the Durland Alternatives Library! We’ll be serving an assortment of self-serve hot & cold beverages, and may even include other items as demand grows.
visioning the library’s renovated cafe area.
The library will have café tables, cozy reading nooks, and even a spot for meetings. We’re still taking requests on this feature. Join our email list to get more involved.
New energy for Anabel Taylor Hall
Anabel’s grocery, a student-led cooperative grocery store is more or less responsible for this move. They’re taking over the library space in the corner of the building. They are tackling an important issue on campus, lack of access to healthy groceries. This year they hosted a food giveaway which served hundreds of students. Here’s some more info about this cool project.
Let’s form a human chain, August 2016
Gary told me a story about how Greenstar Cooperative Market moved to a new location using a human chain. People lined up for blocks and literally passed goods and equipment from one spot to the next.
Our chain will be much shorter, but it’s still going to be amazing. Even though we’re a small library, moving this by ourselves is impossible. Like that saying, many hands make light work.
We’ll aim our human chain at the first row of empty book shelves and vacuum each section one by one into the new space. Then of course, we’ll make a whole event out of it – food, drinks, and the like.
Posted in Library News
