"The aim is to create a space where students and faculty could gather in a comfortable and welcoming environment," Schifberg said.
Students have been involved in the redesign process since last spring through DSALC, a forum for students to advise and learn from the College's library and computing systems, Horrell said. The library administrators formed the Council on the Libraries in fall 2009 to garner feedback on the proposed updates, Horrell said.
Members of the Council did not respond for comment by press time.
The redesigned library will feature a coffee bar between the Main Hall and the Berry News Center, with entry points in each room, according to Angelina Laurent '11, a member of DSALC.
The first change to Baker Main Hall will be the addition of sofas and chairs, Schifberg said. Students will be able to access a cart selling coffee and tea in the Main Hall until the permanent bar is constructed.
The coffee bar is not intended to replace Novack Cafe, Horrell said.
"Part of [our goal] is to have the highest quality coffee and tea we can offer," he said "We don't want to replicate the kind of soup and sandwiches that are offered in Nocack, but to focus mainly on coffee and tea." The Learning Spaces Study Group, a task force commissioned to determine how the College's libraries can better serve students, recommended the redesign, according to Horrell. The group began its analysis in fall 2008, and released its report in February 2009. Since the report's release, both library administrators and the Campus Planning and Facilities office have discussed the possible changes, he said.
Campus Planning and Facilities hired Robert A.M. Sterns Architects to draw up plans for the redesign. Representatives from the firm met with students on Jan. 13 to present a model and solicit feedback, Laurent said.
"The reaction was very positive," she said after the 4 p.m. meeting.
The firm's representatives were very receptive to students' ideas, according to Schifberg. "It definitely seemed like they were listening and taking our opinions into account," she said.
Representatives from Robert A.M. Stern Architecture did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Dialogue between library administrators and students will continue through all stages of the project, according to Horrell.
"Over the next couple of months we're going to be seeking a wide variety of feedback in various ways," he said. "The [Jan. 13] meeting was just one opportunity to get input from the student body."
Preserving the current ambience of the Main Hall is a high priority among students involved in planning, Horrell said.
"They expressed interest in making sure we maintained the very beautiful architectural feeling of the space, and that the furnishings would reflect the nature of that space as opposed to Berry, which is much more contemporary," he said.
The new Main Hall will change, however, in both atmosphere and appearance, according to Laurent.
"It's not going to be a quiet space it's definitely going to be more social than it is now," she said.
Jackson Berler '14 said he hopes the changes will not be too drastic.
"On one hand I like that space because it reminds me of a grand old hall," Berler said. "It adds weight to the library, and I like how you enter at the old part and it gets newer as you walk through Berry I wouldn't want them to change that."
Aaditya Talwai '13 said he looks forward to the new Main Hall, even though he rarely studies there.
"If it was a more social space, it might be a good substitute for Novack for group projects," he said.
The library has sought ways to better utilize the Main Hall since the 1990s, when the advent of computers rendered the card catalogues obsolete, Horrell said.
In an October Faculty of Arts and Sciences general meeting, College President Jim Yong Kim proposed a number of renovations, adding that Dartmouth needs a place where in the words of science author Steven Johnson "ideas can go to have sex," The Dartmouth previously reported.
