Both Hatch Science Library and Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (H-L) received small updates to increase usability and accessibility over the summer. Changes to H-L include a new Quiet Cave, a fidget lending library, a refurbished classroom and study pods in the basement, while the basement of Hatch has been refinished and renovated into a study space.

The former vending machine room in H-L has become the Quiet Cave, a place for silent study. Associate Librarian for Access and User Services Karen Jung cited the room’s heat as the reason behind moving the vending machines around the corner from their previous location.

Interim Director of the College Library Kat Stefko noted that these changes occurred in the looming shadow of the new campus plan, which calls for the demolition of both H-L and Hatch.

“I would also say that we’re in this phase now where we know we’re going to get a new library in the not-so-distant future, but it’s far enough out that we can’t abandon the necessity of attending to [H-L], so we’re looking for opportunities to do things that are [a] high return on investment for relatively low output in terms of capital,” Stefko said. “With a modest coat of paint [and] buying furniture that we know we’ll use in whatever new space we occupy, we’ve been able to transform that area in a way that we think is going to be really helpful to students.”

H-L’s Sensory Space, where students can borrow fidget toys, is the second of its kind on campus. Stefko hopes that the model can be replicated elsewhere at Bowdoin.

“The goal is to have more of them, especially because the idea is that students can pick up and use the fidget toys while they’re here studying [and then] return them,” Stefko said. “The idea is to have them throughout campus, so that [in] any building somebody goes into where they feel like they could benefit from a fidget toy, it would just be available.”

Stefko shared that these changes were made particularly with Bowdoin’s neurodiverse and neurodivergent community in mind.

“We were … thinking about pods being a furniture solution that [provides] something unique that we don’t otherwise have in the library. They cut out some of the visual stimuli,” Stefko said. “They’re really good for focusing, but not making you feel isolated.”

The pods were purchased following a trial period last spring where four different models of pods were placed on the ground floor of H-L. The current pods were chosen based on student feedback on which model they liked best.

Stefko views the pods as a big success and hopes that they give students a reason to spend time in the basement, rather than simply cutting through it to reach the Hubbard Stacks.

“The other day I walked by, and six out of eight of them were occupied,” Stefko said. “I felt like that was pretty good, especially because I don’t know if all of the students know that they’re down there yet.”

The Electronic Classroom in H-L’s basement has been refurbished and restored to its original name of the Bartlett Classroom. The main updates were to seating, with longer tables being replaced by smaller tables more conducive to group work.

Stefko and Jung also emphasized that changes to the library are incomplete. Felt tapestries have been added to the Bartlett classroom, but they are still in the process of installing tapestries in the Quiet Cave.

Stefko explained that a priority throughout all the renovation work was having parts of the library where noise levels are kept to a minimum.

“When we’re looking at seating, we’re also looking at the sound levels,” Stefko said. “That’s really important because there are so many people who want different kinds of atmospheres and environments. We want to provide as many as possible.”

The furniture moved out of the Bartlett classroom was repurposed in the basement of Hatch. Science Librarian Sue O’Dell reflected on the summer transformation.

“I had saved carpet squares from the renovation … when they installed the classrooms on the second floor,” O’Dell said. “Then facilities came in, laid down the carpet squares for us and the tables and chairs [from the old Electronic Classroom] were just in storage here on campus, so I asked for those, and they got delivered, and now we have a much nicer feel downstairs.”