When will there be a South entrance to the Miller Nichols Library again?
Where will the entrance to the building be during the construction?
What will the square footage of the building be when finished?
How long will the construction take?
The Information Commons is very popular. Will more of the building be like that?
What will be in the building when it is done?
How many classrooms will be in the Learning Center addition?
Will the building be open 24 X 7?
How many books will be left out on open shelves?
Will the building have sustainable features?
Is the parking lot going to change?
What is the cost of the the building?
A new entrance is being built as part of the Miller Nichols Learning Center that will lead people into the classroom addition and the iibrary. It is scheduled to be open by Fall 2013.
Because the Robot is in the new South addition which runs the full length of the current Miller Nichols Library, the South entrance to the library has been gone as of the beginning December 2009. A new entrance is being built as part of the Miller Nichols Learning Center that will lead people into the classroom addition and the iibrary. It is scheduled to be open by Fall 2013.
Prior to the construction, the Miller Nichols Library is approximately 170,000 sq. ft. An additional 98,500 sq. ft. will be added for a total of 265,000 gross sq. ft.
The construction will be completed in multiple phases. The first phase, construction of the robot addition, began in late December 2008 and was completed in August 2010. The second phase includes the renovation of the 1st floor (Information Commons) and part of the 2nd floor and was completed in 2011. Construction of the Miller Nichols Learning Center is scheduled for completion by Fall 2013. Renovation of the library's 3rd floor is anticipated to begin in Fall 2013 and expected to last about a year. Subsequent phases have not yet been planned or scheduled.
At the end of the first phase of the renovation, which began in August 2010 and was completed in March 2011, we will expanded and enhanced the Information Commons throughout the 1st floor. The renovated Information Commons is equipped and furnished to serve as a prototype for library users to provide input regarding what they would like for the furnishing of the rest of the building when renovation is completed. The building has been conceived to have Information Commons features in all the public use spaces to accommodate collaborative learning and flexible space to met various study and research needs.
The current services and collections of the Miller Nichols Library will be the primary tenant and will include a cafe. FaCET will remain in the building, as well as the Writing Studio and the Interactive Learning Lab. Also, moving into the building will be the Emeritus College and Western Historical Manuscripts/University Archives. A significant classroom wing, the Miller Nichols Learning Center, is being added on the West side of the building and is scheduled to open Fall 2013.
All of these classrooms will be scheduled by the Registrars Office.
The goal is to have 24X7 areas of the library at least by the end of the project. If the configuration of space allows it sooner, we hope to introduce a secure space within the building that is open all hours of the day.
The library robot, also known as RooBot,is a high density system that stores 80% of the library collections and the collections of the Western Historical Manuscripts. Robots retrieve the requested items. The industry term for the robot is Automated Storage/Retrieval System (ASRS). UMKC has contracted with HK Systems to install a hybrid system with 2 aisles of high density bins and 1 aisle of shelving units. This system enables the highest storage density for a wide variety of materials formats. Users will request items from the online catalog. Their request will automatically initiate the robot to retrieve the item which will be delivered to one of four pick-up stations depending on the type of material. Usually items are delivered in 4 minutes and will be held for the library user for pick-up. Library visitors will be able to watch the robots retrieving materials from a viewing window on the new plaza.
Approximately 150,000 books will be on the open shelves for browsing. These will be the most heavily used items. The library will be working with the faculty to identify which items will be put on open shelves and which will go in the robot
Yes, the building will have a number of sustainable features to make it a 'green' building. Because we are dealing with an existing building some features may be added later in the project. For a summary of the sustainable features, go to the ustainability Summary for Miller Nichols Library.
At this time there are no plans for modifying the parking lot.
The project costs are budgeted at $70 million. Fund-raising will be correspond with the phases of the construction.
Construction Updates