Room for more books is not the only motive pushing the University to undertake the $57.5-million project, however. The new library will exist as a stunning bridge and critical resource in the implementation of Colgate's strategic plan: to create a place that brings together all of the resources that Colgate students and faculty need to energize their thinking and to produce path-breaking work.

Colgate’s Case Library has been renovated before. Originally built in 1958, the architecture reflected that of a warehouse, confirming the notion that a library was merely a storage place for books. Thus, during the early 1980s Colgate funded a 30,000-sf addition and a 45,000-sf renovation to the building. The existing building was hidden behind the addition, forming a new stone and brick façade more fitting to the existing Georgian and Victorian architecture. The Dana addition and renovation then posed a challenge as both builders and architects had to deal with virtually “two” buildings in the recent renovation: that of the first library, and then the addition and renovation that enclosed it.

The new Case Library acts as a culmination of these past libraries, combining the idea that a library is a place to store books, with the aesthetic appeal of a design that fits with the rest of Colgate’s campus. Located on levels 2 through 4 is the LASR system, which provides an innovative solution to long-term housing of books with the maximum in storage space. A computer controlled forklift is able to access bins of stored material in a 30 feet high by 115 feet long vault that will hold about 500,000 books. Students and faculty can order a book electronically and receive that book from the circulation desk within minutes. The most commonly requested books will be kept on regular shelves for browsing; older materials will be placed in the robotic retrieval system. The new Case Library goes a step further than these past libraries however, meeting the growing demands for an integrated facility offering an environment where the “new liberal arts skills will be honed.”

Both a real and symbolic bridge, the library will rise from the banks of Taylor Lake to the slope of Alumni Road, connecting the upper and lower campuses. A south entrance on the fifth floor will provided students access from the upper campus. The fifth floor will also house the 24-hour café, flexible workrooms, two classrooms, a large reading room, and the video conference center. The penthouse spaces above the fifth floor will house the mechanical systems.

Floors one through four follow a similar plan, modeled around two “main streets” and two “side streets” that form the basis of their footprints. Floor one will house government documents, audio visual studios, and a conservation lab among other things. Floor two is dominated by a rare book reading room and archive but also houses faculty carrels, Library of Congress collections, and multimedia production rooms. An enlarged West entrance and a new East entrance will give students and faculty outdoor access to the third and main floors. Highlights on the main floor include the circulation desk, inter-library services, reference, Information Technology Services, library administrative offices, and the Blackmore Archive of Recorded Sound. IT offices, periodicals, and technical services are located on level four.

Project Information
Building Owner:		Colgate University
Building Location:		Hamilton, New York UNITED STATES
Project Type:		Expansion,Renovation
Principal Building Function:		Library and IT center
Project Delivery Method:		Construction Management
Project Timeline		May 2004 Construction Start May 2007 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$60,400,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$380
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Education Library
Total GSF:		155,000
Project Team
Architect		Shepley Bulfinch
Builder		Gilbane Building Company
Engineer - Mechanical		Ove Arup and Partners
Supplier - Air Handlers		Trane Company
Supplier - Elevators		Thyssen Krupp
Profile Created 12/05/2007
Last Updated 12/31/2007
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.