ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Perry-Castañeda Library Nears Completion

Projected completion date for the new Perry- Casteñeda Library at the University of Texas at Austin is February 1977, with a projected occupancy date of July 1977. Relocation of 1.5 million volumes of the Main Library, the Business-Administration-Economics Library, the Classics Library, and the Education-Psychology Library is scheduled for July 6 through August 29, 1977, during the second summer school semester. The General Libraries’ administrative offices, bibliographic processing operations, and major public services will be located in the facility. Library functions are assigned 413,168 square feet, spread over six floors.

Circulation services, reference and information services, and the reserve reading room will be located on the entry level. Reading areas for periodicals, newspapers, and microforms, a map room, photoduplication services, computer- based information services, facilities for library user education, and a public concessions lounge will be located on the lower level. The four upper levels will have open stacks with study carrels and enclosed study rooms. With seating for 3,000 readers and a book storage capacity of 3.25 million volumes, the Perry-Castañeda Library will be the third largest academic library building in the United States. Construction was begun three years ago at a cost of more than $21 million. The building, which allows for a 15-year growth span, is named for Professor Ervin S. Perry, the first black to be appointed to the academic rank of professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and Professor Carlos E. Castañeda, a history department professor who played a central role in the early development of the Latin American Collection of the General Libraries. ■■