After more than two years of construction, three years of controversy and eight years of planning, the Baker-Berry Library project reaches a milestone today with the opening of the brand-new Berry facility.
Construction on Berry has not yet been completed entirely, but those who have been working on the project since its inception are anxious to let the community enter for the first time.
The library that has been promoted as a building suited for the needs of a new technological century will be shown off this afternoon during an open house entitled "Berry 2K: Phase One Is Done."
"What's happening is that all of the library and computing service points will be staffed," John Crane, the director of Administrative Library Services and chair of the Berry Library Building Committee, said. "We're anxious to get as many people as possible through the new facility."
During the open house, tours will be offered beginning in Baker Library's main hall and departing whenever a large enough group has assembled.
There will also be number of prizes given away -- including an iMac computer -- for which raffle tickets may be picked up at the Community Cookout following Convocation.
"Basically, the building is close to being finished but not quite, but it's been done in a way that we can offer library and computer services," Crane said. "It's been a scramble because construction all over has been slow."
All of the books are in their final places after a 27-day effort that Crane said went flawlessly. Berry now houses most of the College's social sciences collection while the humanities collection remains in Baker. New collection guides will be available beginning today.
The much-anticipated snack bar on Berry's ground level is not yet open awaiting a permit from the New Hampshire Health Department. Some computer terminals are also not yet functional.
Crane emphasized that the opening of Berry will be accompanied by continued work in both the new building and Baker.
"We really want to thank people for their patience and forbearance as we scramble to complete construction and then as we move into the Baker renovation phase," Crane said.
The Baker-Berry project is intended to help the College bring the information services it provides into the 21st century.
"In the era of digital information, the services offered by libraries and computer centers are increasingly intertwined," Crane said.
Besides housing most of the College's social sciences collection, Berry will provide a central home for information and computing services, room for an expanded library collection and increased study space.
Some of the notable features of the new facility include a comprehensive information services center including the reference, circulation and eventually the computing help desks and Novack Caf -- a snack bar offering pre-made sandwiches, baked goods and beverages.
Baker and Berry are connected via a tiled pathway known as the "Street" on the first floors of the two buildings -- Berry's ground floor is actually on the same level as the Reserve Corridor -- and via a glass bridge linking Berry's fourth floor to the seventh level of the Baker Annex.
The library exterior is designed to reflect the industrial heritage of New England with rows of windows and limestone insets in the red brick faade chosen to match the exterior of Baker Library.
However, designs for the library initially created controversy among some members of the Dartmouth community who felt the building did not fit in with the College atmosphere.
The next phase of the project includes the renovation of Baker, the demolition of the Kiewit Computation Center and the construction of Carson Hall as a new home for the history department. Completion of the entire Baker-Berry project is scheduled for the spring of 2002.
