Kendall/Heaton Associates

The Case Library, which is home to Colgate’s library specialists and information technology staff, was completely renovated and expanded in a major redevelopment. Wings were added on to the south, east and west sides, and a new fifth floor and roof terrace were added with a bridge to the hillside to connect the library building to the upper campus. The facility was updated with a new café, 24-hour study area, a multimedia production suite, video conferencing areas and public computing spaces. Interior spaces were opened up to promote more interaction and a free flow of materials.

To that end, the library was equipped with a robotic storage/retrieval mechanism (LASR), able to accept student book orders and mechanically deliver a book to the circulation desk in minutes. This system is housed in a vault approximately 30 feet high by 115 feet long which can hold 500,000 books. The most commonly requested books will be kept on open shelves for browsing, accessible to the public, while the older materials are placed in the robotic system, available upon request.