BYU library renovations make a space for everyone

BYU library's renovations are designed to make this large library feel less intimidating and more accessible to different types of learners.

"There are barriers to coming into the library and we kind of just want to knock those aside and invite people in," Kellie Busath, a Reference Specialist for the fourth floor of the library, said.

Busath worked on the fourth floor when construction was happening. The changes removed doors to library services to create more open space. Being an introvert, Busath worried the openness would mean less privacy.

"After the renovations were done, I was like, oh, it's actually so cool that we get to interact with so many students and help them with stuff that they need," Busath said.

Library-wide efforts to make spaces more open and give students more access to windows came from student feedback.

"We want to do everything we can to make people feel welcome, to make them feel like it's their space," Roger Layton, BYU Library Communications Manager, said.

Student-focused changes not only affect the physical building, but also the types of spaces students need. These spaces mainly consist of collaborative and quiet spaces.

"If people learn better when they're talking it out with their friends and classmates, we have a space for that," Busath said. "If people need like dead silence to learn stuff, they can go to the fifth floor or other quiet spaces."

Renovations to the library should be completed in the next couple of years, according to Layton.

"It will be a much more student focused building design when we are finished," Layton said.