Students viewing the inside of the newly constructed Berry Library after tours yesterday responded with mostly negative comments, many describing the interior as cold and impersonal.
"It's kind of like a hospital," Jeannie Eisberg '01 said, of the lighting in the library.
"It felt really institutional, like a public library. I wanted to see some murals on the wall, or at least some student work," she continued.
Berry Library, after two years of construction, is set to house the College's information and computer services as well as an expanded library collection and more study space for students.
The potential coldness of the design drew uproar when first drafted in 1997 when many in the community felt the external look of Berry would be inconsistent with the other buildings and geographically divide the College campus in half.
Novack Caf, the hyped-snack bar on the ground level of Berry, also received negative student feedback.
"In no way whatsoever would I ever want to get food there, I expected something more intimate," says Scott Mollett '03.
"It just feels like a hole in the wall with tables in front of it. It's not too metropolitan," Mollett continued.
Student Assembly Vice President Chance Hill '01 takes issue with the exterior of Berry, calling its appearance "largely out of character with Baker," the library to which Berry has been joined.
His freshman year, Hill heard wind of the project to construct Berry and immediately collected some 1,500 signatures in opposition to the plan.
The blueprints also received heavy criticism from faculty members and Dartmouth's Design Review Committee. Active in the opposing the plans was Art History professor Joy Kenseth, who compared the design to that of mills and factories.
Four years later, the library's construction nearly completed, Hill says the inside of the building satisfies him, but the outside is still an eyesore.
"It's got some neat stuff on the inside, I'm sure it's going to have great facilities and all the underclassmen are really going to benefit from that, but I still think the outside looks like a big Lego addition," Hill said.
"It's flat and boring," he continued.
Not all students who took the tour came away with a bad taste in their mouths, however.
"I really liked it," said Janice Kim '02.
Coordination of printers and computers in the facility and the amount of natural lighting in Berry are what drew Kim to her favorable judgement of the library.
"When time's awasting and you have a paper due, [Kiewit's] not the most convenient," she said.
The group study rooms in Berry are a relief, she said.
"They were really lacking in Baker," said Kim.
The majority of students interviewed by The Dartmouth agreed they could not draw educated conclusions on Berry, since it was obvious from the tour the facility is not yet completed.
The lack of furniture in group study rooms makes it hard to envision what working in them would be like, Eisberg said. "It'll probably have more character when there are people milling about."
Views to the north side of campus on the third and fourth floors are beautiful, she added, even though it was partially obscured by Bradley and Gerry Halls.
Construction on the entire Baker-Berry project is due to be completed in the spring of 2002.
