Burling Library Listening Room to Get Facelift, Summer 2011

Burling Library's Listening Room is set to undergo a major renovation beginning this summer (see periodic updates at http://listenroomren.wordpress.com/). Plans are in place to expand the room so that library patrons can have direct access to most of the collection of over 20,000 DVD, VHS, Blu-ray and compact discs. The collections includes audio recordings in Classical, popular, and world music or spoken texts, as well as feature and documentary films covering foreign languages and an extensive range of genres. Presently, they are housed in the Listening Room's office and can only be retrieved by Listening Room or other library personnel. While the collections are cataloged and searchable from the library's online catalog, there has been a recognized need to give patrons more direct access to the collections. Only a limited number of recordings, mostly archival CDs or non-CD audio formats, will remain in the office once the renovation is complete. Reserves will be available from the Circulation Desk on the first floor. During the summer of 2011, access to the collections may be limited at times. Patrons may need to page recordings from Circulation while the Listening Room staff are temporarily housed in other library locations. Signage will be placed to notify patrons when this occurs. The renovation is an opening step in a longer-range plan to consolidate media-related functions and reflects extensive consultation with faculty, staff, and students, including the Committee to Foster Foreign Languages and the Instructional Support Committee. A document describing the proposed renovations and changes to policy and hours has been sent via email to all divisions and is available upon request. Renovation will be complete before classes begin in the fall.