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Berkeley’s Bancroft Library Closed for RetrofittingThe University of California at Berkeley’s Bancroft Library closed its doors June 1 to move its entire collection to temporary quarters in preparation for a $64-million seismic upgrade and renovation. The June 1 San Francisco Chronicle noted that this is the library’s biggest move since UCB acquired the core collection from historian Hubert Howe Bancroft after San Francisco’s disastrous earthquake and fire in 1906.Most of the library’s 500,000 books, 50 million manuscripts, and 2.8 million photographs will remain in storage for two years, with the exception of the Western Americana collection—about one-eighth of its holdings—which will be available at a temporary location in downtown Berkeley beginning in October. “Our staff logo is ’no book left behind,’” said Bancroft Principal Cataloger Randal Brandt, who was appointed coordinator of the “surge teams” responsible for planning and executing the move. “Our goal is not to lose anything. Maybe we’ll find things we’ve lost. I got the job because I forgot to duck,” he told the Chronicle. The Doe Annex, where the Bancroft collections are housed, was built in 1950 and does not meet current seismic standards. Half of the retrofitting costs will be paid by state funds and federal grants, and half with private financing. The renovation will add more space for exhibits, classrooms, the reading room, and storage. It will also include wheelchair ramps, more accessible stairs and elevators, more computers, and state-of-the-art climate control. Posted June 3, 2005. |
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