Facilities
Outstanding Unit

When the Libraries shut down in March, the Facilities team immediately hit the ground running. We had a large number of space projects planned for the summer, and with the building closed, they were initially able to get a jump-start on them. When everything was shut down, several projects were left halfway done, plus we needed to adjust our physical spaces to meet social distancing requirements for essential workers. Our Facilities team was in almost every day, moving furniture, making adjustments in spaces that were ‘under construction’, checking to make sure the Main Library building was in good shape, and even watering the plants in so many offices. Then, when we received the okay that construction could resume in May, all of the projects started again, and more! The Main Library got a lot of TLC from our campus partners in part because Facilities was on site and easy to work with. We’ve had the entire basement carpeting replaced, an HVAC overhaul, a large part of the first floor and stairwell repainted, a Reflection room and DSL addition built, and the north lobby remodeled all while most of us have been away. What’s more, Facilities is currently moving hundreds of tables, chairs and other furniture all around the Main Library and Business Library to create new office spaces and accommodate socially distanced public spaces. They’ve done all of this work amidst the challenges of the pandemic, and their work has been instrumental in getting us prepared for the semester to come.