History of Burling Library

Burling Library, designed by Walter A. Netsch, Jr., of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was built in 1959. Named for Mrs. Lucy Burnham Burling of Eldora, Iowa, the new building replaced Carnegie Hall as the college's main library. The renovation and expansion of Burling Library took place in 1982-1983 under the direction of Ben Weese, of Weese Segers Hickey Weese, Ltd. of Chicago, whose design doubled the study and shelf space available in the original building. Dennis Langley was the project manager for Weese Seegers Hickey Weese, and Donald O. Rod served as the librarian-consultant. Burling Library is nationally recognized for its creative and comfortable study areas. There are attractive reading areas on the first and second floors, as well as study carrels throughout the building.

 Fact Sheet - Statistical data about the Libraries (FY10 data)

Facilities:

Burling Library

  • Constructed 1959
  • Renovated 1982
  • Square feet - 60,739

Kistle Science Library (Noyce Science Center)

  • Constructed 2007
  • Square feet - 10,553

Curriculum Library (Steiner Hall)

Offsite Storage Facility

Automated system:

Installed 1989

Innovative Interfaces, Inc.

Circulation:

Total circulation - 66,766

Reserves circulation:

  • Paper: 17,302
  • Electronic: 53,889

Collections:

Volumes - 817,849 (includes government documents)

Serials subscriptions received (all formats) - 26,222

Audiovisual units - 39,745

(44% Federal Government documents depository)

Computers:

Burling Library

  • PCs (Windows) - 34
  • Macs - 10
  • Wireless access throughout building

Kistle Science Library (Noyce Science Center)

  • Dual boot PC/Macs - 14
  • Wireless access throughout building

Electronic Classroom (Interactive Instructional Facility-IIF)

PC stations - 11

Mobile tables - 2

Instructor unit - 1

  • LCD projector
  • Elmo overhead projector
  • VCR
  • DVD player
  • LaserDisc player
  • Wireless microphone
  • Laser pointer

Networked laser printer

Flat-bed scanner

Robotel M160

Gate count (typical week):

4,722

Acquisitions expenditures:

$1,680,122

Hours of operation:

Per week - 110

Reference hours per week - 63

Interlibrary loan:

Borrowed - 5,337

Provided - 5,014

Personnel:

Librarians - 8

Professional Staff - 2

Support Staff - 13.25

Annual student hours - 20,770

Imaging services:

Burling

  • Photocopy machines - 3
  • Flatbed scanners - 2
  • Microfiche readers - 4
  • Microfilm readers - 4
  • Microprint readers - 1
  • Microform reader/digital scanner - 1

Kistle Science Library (Noyce Science Center)

  • Photocopy machines - 1
  • Flatbed scanners - 1

(Xerox digital photocopiers include: Pioneer card vend units, coin vending units, and a departmental code reader)