Melting...

So, chocolate-covered anything (like, say, Nutty Bars) is not a good idea when your building has no air conditioning.  Not if you're not fond of melty chocolate everywhere.

Anywho, the library where I work has been under construction for about two years now; they should be done at the end of August.  It's been an interesting process; the upstairs has changed the most so far, with the addition of a classroom and the realignment of the instructional technologies space.  Now it's the main floor's turn.

The changes down there (I'm temporarily located upstairs) will be immediately noticeable when you walk inside: the lobby is getting an overhaul; a wall's been removed; and the old microforms section has been deconstructed to allow for better alignment of computers.

My department's workspace is getting realigned, as well.  I had an opportunity to draw a floor plan for it, and we're getting most of what we asked for - an office for circulation/interlibrary loan staff, and more secure for our circulating equipment.  There will be a new circulation desk for the first time since the building opened; our old one was fantastically sturdy hard wood, but not really made for the computer age - nor was it ADA compliant.  My office is getting another electrical outlet (woo!).

The air conditioning was redone last summer - or at least, the chiller was.  Apparently some pumps died, so we're waiting on replacement of those to actually have cold air throughout the building.

Change can be difficult; at the same time change is (hopefully) inevitable.  I grew up in a house under continual construction; they started on it when I was three, we moved into the basement when I was four, and we moved upstairs as rooms got finished.  I'm used to the continual evolution of space.  As libraries evolve, as information resources evolve, spaces will have to keep evolving for us to continue providing consistently high-quality access.

Hopefully we'll eventually be able to do it in a consistently climate-controlled environment as our construction comes to a close, however.  I'd really like to be able to keep my emergency chocolate in my desk drawer without needing a spoon to eat it.