University of Virginia Library

Seat Shortage

Someone definitely thinks so,
according to the University's
present plans. The truth is, as with
so many other things here, Clark
Hall is already too small for the
planned undergraduate library. And
the Law School has not even moved
out yet.

At present there are
approximately 7,500
undergraduates at the University
who require 2,500 library seats to
meet the standard of seating
one-third of them. According to a
report on the library made last
year, up to 1,000 of these seats
should be provided in Alderman.

At any rate, a modest estimate
of the number of seats needed in an
undergraduate library for a student
body of the present size is 1,500.
This means that at the standard of
25 square feet per reader, an
undergraduate library would
require 37,500 square feet of reader
space for today's student body.

To point out that this 37,500
square feet of area does not include
any space for stacks, offices, or any
special services is unnecessary since
the net total area of Clark Hall is
only 34,500 square feet.

The possibility remains that
Clark Hall can be "opened up" —
that is, completely torn apart and
remodeled inside—to provide the
extra space needed for an
undergraduate library.

In 1963, Russell Bailey was
retained by the University to make
a general survey and
recommendations for the growth of
the University library system.
Bailey's recommendation was that
the undergraduate library should be
placed next to Alderman, on the
site of the old Biology Building.

Everywhere that new
undergraduate libraries are being
built, they are located near the
main library building. There are
very practical reasons for this.