During spring term, Seymour Library staff could be seen moving books and preparing for renovations set to occur over the summer. In efforts to make the campus more accessible, an elevator was going to be installed in the center of Seymour Library. Though the library does have a service elevator, it is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“The last time the library was renovated was 1989-1990. It was right before the ADA became legislation so they didn’t think about the space in terms of accessibility, in part because the laws weren’t there yet,” Director of the Library Anne Thomason said.

Though the elevator performs its task of carting books up and down floors, it is not suited to serve patrons of the library. The elevator is up to date with the Illinois’ Elevator Safety and Regulation Act, but there are multiple steps to operate it and the gate which secures it sometimes malfunctions, making it difficult to utilize.

In addition to the installation of an elevator, original construction plans provided by Klingner & Associates architectural firm would have expanded bathrooms to both increase the number of stalls available and improve accessibility. These renovations, set to take place during the summer of 2024, were halted due to a limited budget.

“The only available bid for the project was rejected due to its high cost. We are currently evaluating whether to rebid this design or whether an alternate design should be further explored,” General Counsel and Vice President of Administration Bradley Nolden said.

Knox has now hired another architectural firm, Ratio Designs, to discuss future options for Seymour Library. A preliminary meeting occurred on Thursday, Sept. 26 between Ratio Designs and a Knox committee of students and staff. Thomason explained that this was to explore design options that might be more suitable to the college, now that the timeframe was no longer constrained.

With new possibilities on the horizon, Thomason mentioned that the renovations might expand beyond just accessibility issues.

“It’s not just the elevator and it’s not just the bathrooms, it’s looking at our classroom space. I would really like a real classroom that has everything we need. I’m also hoping for ideas about comfortable study spaces for students,” Thomason said.

Open instruction areas like Andrew’s Forum can become loud or distracting depending on the event, and having a more enclosed classroom space would provide greater opportunities for teachers to bring their classes to Seymour Library.

Thomason is very interested in student feedback and many of her ideas for improvements come directly from students. Throughout the planning process, she is working to keep the older feel of the building intact.

“This is a historic building and what we really want to do is maintain the historic charm of the 1928 building,” Thomason said.

The committee and architects will reconvene on Oct. 30 to discuss potential construction scenarios for the library, and present a plan some time in December. Any projects would occur in phases, allowing the library to remain functioning during the school year.

Construction would most likely happen while students were on breaks; however, there is a plan in place in case the library needs to be closed for a period of time, which will allow librarians to continue helping students with research and keep all resources available to the student body. Still, a scenario in which this plan would need to be implemented seems unlikely.

“Unless we were to do a full-scale renovation, which right now is not what we have in mind, we would not want to close the library,” Thomason said.

This has been a long process already and will likely continue to be. Last spring, student and staff employees worked to clear books from the area where the new elevator might be installed. Student employees like senior Tara Irani and fifth-year Mary Hall, participated in this shuffling of literature, and both expressed excitement about making the campus more accessible.

Despite the postponement of the elevator, moving these books was not in vain. The transition made Seymour’s stacks easier to navigate and changes included the integration of the SMC library books and converting books cataloged under the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress number system which Knox uses.

“The book shift was already in the cards, but the elevator project pushed it to the fore,” Public Service Assistant David Lavender said.

While it is impossible to currently predict the scale or time frame of upcoming projects, renovations are in Seymour Library’s future.

“Seymour Library is only a few years from its 100th anniversary, and we look forward to completing improvements for this celebration,” Noldan said.