Library Closed on Saturday, April 13th

Due to construction, the library will be closed all day on Saturday, April 13th.  We will reopen at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 14th.

Library Closed on Saturday, April 6th

Due to construction, the library will be closed all day on Saturday, April 6th.  We will reopen at 10 AM on Sunday, April 7th.

Fourth Floor, Makeover Edition

Tags

4th floor, Center for Student Life, construction, CSL

Study space on the northwest corner of 4th floor.

Where once there were bookshelves, now there is a computer lab.

A view of the computer lab from the northwest corner of 4th floor.

Soft seating outside the computer lab on 4th floor north.

Soft seating outside the computer lab on 4th floor north.

Soft seating outside the Reading/Writing Center and Diversity Services.

Soft seating across from OSA and Diversity Services.

A view of the computer lab and the future 5th floor dining hall from the northeast corner of 4th floor.

Study space on the northeast side of 4th floor, facing the Reading/Writing Center Director’s office.

Just outside the computer lab and the Reading/Writing Center is a printer stand, just waiting for students to send the first print jobs.

Ever since you returned from the holiday break to a new Brew, the rest of the 4th floor has lingered out there, tantalizingly out of reach.  Wait no more! The fourth floor, makeover edition, has finally reopened.

Just in time for your end-of-term studies, we have opened access to more study tables on the north end and a computer lab.  The computer lab will also serve an instructional purpose in coming terms, but only on a limited basis.  In other words, the computers are BACK!

In the coming weeks, we will be able to open up two additional group study rooms.  Rooms 416 and 417 are intended for groups of 4 or more.

Over spring break, members of several departments will move into their new spaces on the fourth floor.  Members of the library look forward to having the Office of Student Activities, Diversity Services, and International Student Services join us in the new CSL space. The Reading/Writing Center also will be moving to their new location on 4th floor over the spring break.

So what are you doing, still reading this post?  Go explore the 4th floor.

Olof Grafström paintings in Special Collections

You may have noticed that since the Center for Student Life renovations began in the library, we have had a lot of changes in the art displayed in the library. Some new pieces have arrived, and other old favorites are back on the walls. For the first time, Special Collections is displaying artwork in its new reading room/classroom.

Two of these paintings are by Olof Grafström, a well-known Swedish-American artist and long-time art teacher at Augustana. Jonas Olof Grafström was born on June 11, 1855, in Attmar, Medelpad, Sweden, into a well-to-do farming family. Grafström immigrated to Portland, Oregon in June of 1886.  He painted portraits and landscapes influenced by Swedish motifs, as well as frescoes and religious pieces. He was awarded medals in several art competitions, and sold many of his paintings in exhibits. From 1893 until 1897, Grafström taught in the art department of Bethany College, Kansas. Grafström came to Augustana in the fall of 1897. He was extremely productive while at the college, painting between two and three hundred pieces. Most of these paintings were altarpieces for Augustana Synod churches in the Midwest, but Grafström continued to paint landscapes and portraits, as well as riverscapes. He painted a number of images of the Augustana campus, two of which are currently hanging in Special Collections. Since one of the foci of Special Collections is Augustana history, we are especially happy to be able to display these paintings.

Almost all art displayed on the Augustana campus in part of the Augustana College Art Museum collection. The library is grateful that we have the opportunity to have so much of it in our building. More information about the art museum can be found here.

Brew by the Slough: Grand Re-opening

On Thursday, Jan. 17 from 1 -4 PM, come check out the new Brew by the Slough!

Sample Starbucks coffee, take a tour and register for door prizes at the grand opening of the Brew.

Free Augustana travel mugs for the first 500 people!

Behind-the-scenes construction tours of the fourth and fifth floors of the library will start at 1:30 p.m.

4th Floor’s New Beginning

Tags

4th floor, Brew by the Slough, Center for Student Life, renovation

The Brew looks a little different! It is now located where the old Circulation desk, shelves and a faculty office used to reside.

New furniture and decor are available in the Brew.

The refreshed and expanded Brew seating area.

The Brew servery and condiment bar.

A view of the new OSA offices from the Brew seating area.

The new 3rd floor “study bar.” We hope to have electrical outlets available for this area soon.

Another layer of the Center for Student Life takes shape as part of the existing 4th floor reopens for student use this week.  Over break, construction crews worked feverishly to completely reimagine the Brew.  The servery has been moved to its new position, concrete floors have been polished, and new furniture has been put into place.

Students will also be able to see the outside of the new OSA, Multicultural Services, and Reading/Writing Center offices, all of which should be open sometime in Spring term. The library staff look forward to welcoming our partners to their new spaces.  The carpeted spaces on either side of the elevator hallway will have soft sofas and chairs in the near future.

The interior library stairs are now open between first and fourth floors, so you can put your new year’s resolutions to work as you go between upper and lower campus.

On the 3rd floor, the area surrounding the atrium between 2nd and 3rd now has a “study bar” available.  This offers students another option for study space.  We hope to have electrical outlets available in this area soon.

Still to come: the reopening of the north end of the 4th floor.  This area is still under construction, but will house more study space, a library instruction classroom that will double as another computer lab, 2 more study rooms, and the international students office.