The majority of the East Asia Library, currently housed on the fourth floor Meyer Library, will be moved to the Graduate School of Business (GSB) South Building in spring and summer 2014 to prepare for the demolition of Meyer in 2015, according to Library Communications Director Andrew Herkovic. The new home of the Meyer material and 24-hour study room will also have a food service area.
The University decided to forgo the $45 million retrofitting of Meyer to meet safety standards, opting instead to renovate the GSB South Building, which has been unoccupied since the GSB moved to the Knight Management Center in spring 2011. The renovation is expected to cost $57 million.
The other books in Meyer, general collections materials, as well as the rest of the East Asia collection, will be redistributed between Green Library, one of Stanford’s on-campus auxiliary libraries and a storage facility off campus, according to Assistant University Librarian and Stanford University Libraries Chief of Staff Mimi Calter.
The transfer of books will “be managed in a manner that minimizes inconvenience,” according to Herkovic, who noted that students will be able to page the books that they need and have them brought to a central location for pickup.
While the Academic Council Committee on Libraries suggested that a completely new building be constructed to house the East Asia Library, the University decided to renovate the GSB South Building instead because a renovation would be less expensive, according to Jack Cleary, associate vice president of Land, Buildings and Real Estate.
Although Herkovic said the renovation details “are still in flux,” he predicts that the renovated GSB building will resemble the former Jackson Business Library but have more stack areas. According to Calter, there will be “slightly less” shelving space than in Meyer.
“I and most senior staff understand it to be a brilliant solution to a vexing and intractable space problem,” Herkovic said in a statement.
One of the most popular aspects of Meyer, the 24-hour study room, will also be transferred to the East Asia collection’s new home in GSB South. Unlike Meyer, the new library will also have food service, located in the basement where the Arbuckle Cafe used to be.
“The food service piece has only recently been approved by the Provost, so it has not been widely advertised,” Calter said in a statement.
Calter added that though the plans have received approval from the Board of Trustees at several stages, they will be presented again in the spring.
The Daily stated that Meyer Library will be demolished in 2015. The demolition is still pending presentation to and approval from the Board of Trustees. The Daily regrets the omission.