College and Research Libraries T h e New East Texas State College Library BY J O H N E. B U R K E ON A U G U S T 20, 1960 the Texas Society of Architects announced that the new library at East Texas State College, at Commerce, had been chosen as one of the best planned and best constructed buildings erected in the state of Texas in the 1950's. T h i s library, completed in September 1959, at a cost of almost a million dollars, houses more than two hundred thousand volumes and seats al- most a thousand students. A building of simplicity and beauty, the 60,000-square- foot structure cost $13.55 per square foot (U. S. median for educational buildings: $15.99). S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S T h e design of the building incor- porated these features: 1. F l e x i b i l i t y , with free-standing book- stacks. 2. D e c o r a t i v e a l u m i n u m solar screen to add beauty a n d protect the library b u i l d i n g against sun h e a t and glare. 3. C o m p l e t e l y air-conditioned. 4. W a r m colors on walls, and all i n t e r i o r columns covered with colorful plastic ma- terial. 5. C o n v e n i e n t l y located reading a n d study tables, i n c l u d i n g carrels, close to bookstacks. 6. An inviting student lounge, a colorful room which includes a fully e q u i p p e d kitchen a n d a high-fidelity record player. 7. A ceiling of light giving true daylight reading i l l u m i n a t i o n to all areas at all times without glare. 8. An outside book-return c h u t e at the m a i n e n t r a n c e for the return of books even when the library is n o t o p e n . 9. Sound-proof facilities for the individual use of d o c u m e n t a r y films, a n d for music a n d typing. 10. An a u t o m a t i c charging m a c h i n e to fa- c i l i t a t e the checking out a n d r e t u r n o f books. 11. Microfilm readers and a m i c r o c a r d Dr. Burke is Director of Library Service, East Texas State College, Commerce. reader provided for using t h e back files of newspapers a n d specialized r e f e r e n c e books n o t otherwise available. G E N E R A L C O M M E N T S T h e architect, George L. Dahl, Inc., of Dallas, worked on the premise that "a library is four walls around a func- tion," and he was meticulous in under- standing every library procedure before the blueprints were drawn. T h e result is a library that is a modern, functional building designed to meet the varied needs of the college today and flexible enough to serve those of the future. It is a large, slightly rectangular, two-story structure topped by a penthouse. It contains approximately sixty thousand square feet of floor space; has a capacity of more than two hundred thousand vol- umes; is constructed almost wholly of fireproof materials. T h e present book and periodical col- lection of the East Texas State College Library totals 150,000 volumes. A con- tinual process of weeding takes place. With an average yearly increase of about 5,500 volumes, growth for several dec- ades can easily be taken care of. T h e new college library was planned with expansion in mind. Even though pres- ent facilities are adequate for the growth anticipated for East T e x a s State College in the next twenty years, the building may be enlarged in the future. One of the main criteria for the li- brary was flexibility. Shelving areas may be converted into reading or office space, and vice versa. Lounge or informal read- M A Y 1 9 6 2 233 ing areas can be utilized for shelving and study space should the need arise. If and when the educational pattern of East Texas State College requires revi- sion, the new college library, it is hoped, will be adaptable with a minimum of alteration. By keeping partitions at a minimum, the planning committee felt that supervision could be maintained with the fewest possible attendants—an important factor in economical college library administration. M O R E D E T A I L S It should be pointed out that all space within the building is devoted to library purposes. T h r e e classrooms are set aside for the use of the department of library science, since East T e x a s State College is outstanding in preparing school li- brarians for Texas, Arkansas, Okla- homa, and Louisiana. These classrooms are located on the second floor of the library and are accessible from the li- brary proper and may be used by all departments of the college for lectures, movies, or other cultural purposes. Of special interest, perhaps, is the in- formal reading room at the head of the main stairway. T h i s area, though easily supervised, allows for general ease and comfort and permits regular exhibits of professional and student art work. Com- fortable lounge chairs and divans make the area a lounge for smoking, study, browsing, and reading. It is proposed to add to the books and encyclopedias in this browsing area some of the more popular periodicals and some paperback editions displayed in bookstore fashion. Lighting was a major element in the design of the library and dictated ex- haustive pre-design studies to determine exact library activities and lighting re- quirements. T h e ceiling light on both the first and second floors permits maxi- mum flexibility of furniture and book- stack arrangements by providing lighting intensities above recommended norms coupled with low brightness throughout. Fifteen hundred forty-watt flourescent tubes on each of the two floors concealed by a covering of plastic provide fifty- to fifty-five-foot candles of average main- tained light to read titles on the spines of books in the most remote corners of the library whether the sun is shining or the skies are cloudy. In other words, sufficient overhead illumination main- tains light without glare at table top surface or at the lowest shelf of books. T h e light colored vinyl tile floor also helps in making the library bright and cheerful. T h e lighting fixtures fit eighteen inches above the luminous ceiling of solid light. T h i n , brightly colored baf- fles suspended from the ceiling help to counteract visual boredom that might result from long, tedious hours of read- ing and study. In addition, they break the brightness of the ceiling, add beauty to the library, and absorb noises. Acous- tic plastic baffles, louvered ceiling, and flourescent lights in this arrangement are all relatively new features in ceiling ar- rangement. At night this luminous ceiling is an outstandingly attractive sight identify- ing the library from afar. According to library personnel, the ceilings of light have provided good visual comfort to minimize eye strain and fatigue, and students now spend four to five hours reading and studying in the library without experiencing physical fatigue or eye strain. T h e plastic of the luminous ceiling seems weightless and is easily re- moved and replaced for any necessary repair or for the insertion of new floures- cent tubes. T h e million dollar library, winner of the Architecture of Merit Award of the Texas Society of Architects, stands as visible proof of what careful planning, hard work, and cooperative effort can accomplish. T h e library has lived up to its goal of being attractive and inviting, (Continued on page 266) 2 3 4 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S E V E R Y L I B R A R Y should have at least one L a r g e R e f e r e n c e G l o b e 24" diameter 75" circumference Cosmopolite N a v i g a t o r • F o u r times the surface a r e a of a 1 2 " globe • Scale 333 miles to t h e inch • Over 4 7 0 0 n a m e s • Physical-Political coloring • Shows w a r m a n d cold ocean c u r r e n t s • T r u s t territories a r e delineated • N a t i o n a l and state boundaries in p u r p l e Write for beautiful colored brochure G63, with descriptive information and prices. D E N O Y E R - G E P P E R T C O M P A N Y Maps • Globes • Charts • Atlases • Pictures 5 2 3 5 R a v e n s w o o d A v e . , C h i c a g o 4 0 Expert Service on MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS for ALL LIBRARIES ft Faxon's Librarians Guide free on request ft For the very best subscription service at competitive prices—ask about our T i l l Forbidden I B M - RAMAC plan. ft F. W. FAXON CO., INC. 83-91 Francis Street Boston 15, Mass. ft Continuous Service to Libraries Since 1886 East T e x a s . . . (Continued from page 234) easy of access, friendly and comfortable in arrangement, and above all, func- tional in meeting the needs of college students, and faculty members, and ad- ministrative officials. Probably the key to what seems to be, after one year of operation, a really suc- cessful building is that there was from the beginning the assumption that the architect and each library staff member knew his business. T h e planning com- mittee did not set out to draw up a pretty library, but, rather, a useful one. Because of this singleness of purpose, it seems that East Texas State College has a library which is acclaimed by both users and visitors as truly beautiful and utilitarian. B U I L D I N G D A T A A r c h i t e c t a n d engineers: George L . Dahl and Associates, Dallas, T e x a s . C o n t r a c t o r : C a r p e n t e r B r o t h e r s , Dallas, T e x a s . D a t e bid was accepted for new library: J u l y 1, 1958. D a t e new library building was turned over to the college: September 1, 1959. Cost of building: $ 7 6 1 , 4 7 5 . 1 0 o r $13.55 p e r square foot, e x c l u d i n g the cost of e q u i p m e n t , $86,988, and re-finishing the f u r n i t u r e of the old library, $10,000. Size of building: 5 6 , 2 0 0 square feet including the walls. 55,644 square feet within the walls of the library. Site: On west side of rolling c a m p u s adjacent to t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Building. A m p l e allow- a n c e for parking. E n o u g h land to p e r m i t ex- pansion of s t r u c t u r e in t h e f u t u r e including sufficient a r e a for additional parking facilities. Book c a p a c i t y : A t present stacks and shelving for 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 volumes. Potential capacity, m o r e than 400,000 volumes. Seating capacity: 865. May be e x p a n d e d to seat 2,600. College e n r o l l m e n t , 1959-1960: 3,100. Steel bookstacks and shelving: F u r n i s h e d by Estey C o r p o r a t i o n of R e d B a n k , N. J . and Dallas, T e x a s . L i b r a r y F u r n i t u r e : F u r n i s h e d by J o h n E . Sjos- t r o m C o m p a n y of P h i l a d e l p h i a , P e n n . and Hous- ton, T e x a s . L i b r a r y building c o m m i t t e e : Charles Van B a u c o m , Sally B e t h e a , O. B. B r a d f o r d , J o h n E m m e t t B u r k e , R u t h C. B u r n e t t , M a r y Eliza- beth Cook, George Kibler (superintendent of construction), E d m o n L o w (consultant), E d n a E a r l R y a n , L o r a E . Smith, Mary R a g l a n d T h o m p - son, H . S. Tollefson, O r l a n d J a c k W a g e s , and Opal W i l l i a m s (head l i b r a r i a n ) .