Courtesy of Falcon Photo Library By A. K. Miller
On September 29, Carmichael Library had an event called Boost and Browse. The event was to serve as the grand reveal of the renovations recently done on the ground floor of the library and to showcase some of the services provided on the ground floor.
Back in the spring of 2024, the Solution Center, which at the time was split between two locations, one of which was the library, relocated out of the ground floor and to Morgan Hall. “So, as they were going to move out, we thought well, that’s going to leave a void down there and we started thinking about what services we could offer on the ground floor,” the library’s director of nine years, Charlotte Ford recollected.
At the time the Solution Center wasn’t the only resource split in two places. The Falcon Success Center was also split between multiple locations. Peer tutoring services were provided at the library, but all the Center’s other services, such as success coaching, advising and The Great Start Program were located at Van Tuyll House.
With this situation and an open space to fill, Carmichael Library and the Falcon Success Center saw an opportunity. The two joined forces and decided to relocate the entirety of The Falcon Success Center to the ground floor of the library.
But this change required some adjustments to the space, such as additional offices for the Falcon Success Center workers. Not only that, but the space had become outdated and needed to be refreshed. This started the around 200 thousand dollar, year and a half long process of renovating the ground floor of the library.
The project went through multiple phases, from applying for grants (specifically an EBSCO Community Impact grant), deciding what all would get changed and finally the actual renovating of the floor section by section beginning in January 2025.
The work was mostly done by the Physical Plant, the group of workers who maintain the university’s landscaping and infostructure, and the project was funded through the EBSCO grant that the library had applied for, along with some aid from the university.
The changes included new paint, carpet, lighting, and study space arrangements. While the project was underway, several of the librarians also applied for grants, though admittedly smaller grants than the EBSCO one. “People…have been motivated by having these changes to say, ‘Okay how can we make this even better?’” Ford stated.
One of the resulting grants was a Green Fund Grant that went on to provide the financial aid required for small additional touches to the space. After asking students, it was decided that the desk chairs needed to be reupholstered.
Through everything, Carmichael Library has tried to provide what is needed by the students. “I would hope that they would understand that the library and the Falcon Success Center, that we’re really here in support of students; that we want to provide environments that are conducive to learning and study and creativity and all those good things,” Ford said.
This project had been long overdue, but it is now complete. The scent of new carpet and paint, the comfort of reupholstered chairs, and the beauty of the newly designed space are beckoning the students of UM.
