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On Wednesday, November 18, Lynn, Mary Beth, Mary, Chris, Travis, and I traveled across town to visit the recently renovated Coy C. Carpenter Library at the Bowman Gray Campus during their celebratory Open House. The renovation project, which began in June 2009, was completed in three stages, and integrated three departments within the Medical Center: the Library, the Drug Information Service Center (DISC), and the bookstore.

The first stage of the renovation project focused on the entryway and lobby of the Library. The old desk and shelves – and the side wall – were torn out, the recessed bookcases were filled in, a new semi-circular desk was built across the lobby from the old desk location, and two counters with shelves above were installed on the right side of the lobby from the entrance. The wood paneling was painted and new carpeting installed, giving the new entryway and lobby a larger, brighter, more welcoming appearance. The new desk is now the Library’s only service desk, combining the previous three desks: Circulation, Reference, and the Learning Resources Center (LRC). (Circulation and Reference had previously combined desks in July 2008.) The browsing area was moved into the Reference Room where the old Reference desk was located.

Stage two of the renovation project involved moving all the public computers from Classroom C (in the former LRC area) and the Reference Room to a central location, which is visible from the new desk. Classroom C’s wood paneling was also painted, and the space dubbed a quiet study area, which has quickly become a popular spot for students.

The final stage of the renovation project involved moving the DISC from its previous location within the Library (off the copy room) to the former LRC desk and office area, which was reconstructed to create two offices and a central work area. The bookstore moved from the Ground Floor of Reynolds Tower into the old DISC office, and a doorway was created from the Library lobby leading directly into the bookstore. Two sections of walls in the lobby, including the bookstore entrance, were painted a vibrant green as the finishing touch!

Those of us who attended the open house enjoyed visiting with our Carpenter colleagues, touring the Library, and examining two Dorothy Carpenter Medical Archives displays in the Library: an iron lung (similar to this photo), transferred to the Archives in 1996 from NC Baptist Hospital, and the Library’s first public computer, a Sanyo Apple II, manufactured in September 1981. I even took Mary Beth for a ride on the “scary” Stacks elevator!