Back in February, the first of the Forsyth Library staff members started moving over to Custer Hall. By May, the last the staff members moved to Custer as Forsyth Library became a construction site.
Custer Hall was built in 1922 and is located near McMindes Hall. In the original wing of the building, the library staff now occupy some of the garden level, all of the second level, and all of the third level. The Welcome Desk is located in Custer Hall 304 and the Media Lab is located in Custer Hall 310. Signage throughout Custer Hall leads patrons to the right direction for these new locations.
Many staff enjoy the new walking path and crossing Jellison Bridge each day. Some of our staff have sewn custom curtains for their office, while others have hauled in rugs and other décor to feel more add some library flair and get settled. Being 100+ years old, the building has some character and charm: offices on the second floor have extra tall ceilings, some offices have green carpet, others have gray carpet, there’s even a fireplace in the temporary breakroom!
Our friendly, new neighbors in the building include the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science and the University Police Department. This side of campus is lively when students are on campus because it falls along a main route from the residence halls to class – especially during meal times or passing periods.
Natural light is one of the best things about Custer Hall. With at least one window in every office, you see a lot more (healthy) office plants – some staff are even trying their luck at having a live office plant for the first time! Coincidentally, natural light is the most common request we got during the 2022 library renovation input sessions, so when the library moves back to the renovated building, there will be large windows throughout the library and intentionally designed placement of offices and study spaces to maximize the use of natural light throughout the building.
Another benefit of Custer Hall is the closer proximity of library staff offices. In the old Forsyth Library, staff offices were sprawled across the three levels within the 100,000+ square foot building, so you got your steps in by just walking to different meetings or to pop into someone’s office. Now our staff can walk down the hallway and interact with one another.
When the library moves back to the renovated building, offices will be arranged in pods with cross-functional teams having offices in close proximity to one another. On the main level, the public services pod will house the access services, outreach, interlibrary loan staff, and the teaching and research team. On the upper level, the dean and the administrative specialist will have a suite of offices on the southwest side of the floor, while the digital curation and special collections and archives teams will occupy a pod of offices adjacent to the reading room, the vault, and the digitization lab. On the lower level, the collections pod will house the acquisitions, e-resources, and resource development team members.
Here are some photos of our temporary offices in Custer:
Student employees, Ryan and Jay, staffing the Custer Hall 304 Welcome Desk. Checkout technology equipment, checkout interlibrary loan materials, and return books here.
