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| Summer 2002 | Volume 10 Number 1 |
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The Darling Center Prepares for Expansion |
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| Summer 2002 | Volume 10 Number 1 |
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The Darling Center Prepares for Expansion |
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Information in following article is reprinted by permission from Making Waves, 10(2), December 2001, the Darling Marine Center's biannual newsletter. Additional information has been provided by Dr. Kevin Eckelbarger, Director, Darling Marine Center. Photographs by Suzette Dininno.
Thanks to a $200,000 facility award from the National Science Foundation and matching funds from The University of Maine, the DMC (Darling Marine Center) library will undergo an expansion and renovation in 2002. |
| In this Issue l Tri-State Regional Depository Conference l Guest Essay l Canadian Collection Additions l Media Resource Center l In Focus l Women's Studies Bibliography l Genealogy on the Internet |
The Center's first "library" began modestly in 1966 as four shelves in the canning cellar of the former residence of Mr. Ira C. Darling soon after he donated the property and buildings to the University. In 1969, a half-time Librarian was hired and the limited library holdings were transferred to the top floor of a 3-story horse barn (now called Wentworth Hall). In the early 1970's, the Department of Oceanography expanded its teaching program and additional volumes and journals were purchased resulting in a growth surge. In 1980, the Library was moved to its present location on the main floor of Wentworth Hall and 5,500 books were in the collection. By 1990, the Library housed 10,000 bound volumes but, since then, overcrowding has resulted in portions of the collection |
| being moved to the building's unheated attic (accessible only by pull-down ladder by the Librarian) and across the street to the unheated attic of McGuire Hall (formerly the cow barn). In 1993, a small dining hall located on the same floor as the Library was converted to a current journal reading room in an attempt to keep up with rising demand for space. Today, the Library contains 13,000 bound books/journals and subscribes to 135 journals. However, due to lack of space for bound volumes, 30% of the Library's holdings are now stored elsewhere and must be accessed by the Librarian on demand. The 2002 expansion project will ultimately more than double the amount of floor space available to the library. A 1,660 sq. ft. addition to the main floor will allow for the consolidation of all journal/book holdings. Existing space will be renovated to create a student Computer Center and ITV-equipped conference room, a Special Collections Room to house rare holdings, and a large reprint collection covering ecology/taxonomy of organisms from the Gulf of Maine. Dr. Kevin Eckelbarger, Director, Darling Marine Center said, " The Center's Library is arguably its most important asset and the planned improvements will immediately benefit students, faculty, and visitors, by providing more study space and access to modern technology to support their research and course work." |
