NEW LIBRARY Opening Soon in April

Reporters: Chinatsu Aoyama, Sara Hirabayashi, Hinata Kato, Junto Mizumura, Yuuma Sakamoto, Yuuna Sugeno

A glimpse of Aoyama Gakuin campus's new library 

~Interview with Shimizu Corporation~

　　Aoyama Campus’s new library building “Maclay Memorial Hall” will open in April. The veils and fences surrounding the construction area will finally be removed, completing the external and internal works currently in progress with roughly 230 to 250 workers involved a day (as of November 2023). It is estimated that in total 65,000 will take part in the construction. The building is named after Robert S.Maclay, who is one of the founders of Aoyama Gakuin University. The new building will have seven floors, from the 1st basement floor to the 6th floor. It will store 1.5 million books, which is a large increase in number from 1 million in the existing library building. Reading books is not the only thing students can do in the building: there will be an atrium, information study spaces, presentation rooms and other unique features. Students will be able to enjoy the open and relaxing atmosphere with lawns and trees, feel laid back and have a pleasant time. The following articles will explore further details regarding the long-awaited new library building. EIZY gained myriad information by interviewing Shimizu Corporation and Professor Date (College of Literature), both of whom are key contributors to the project.

The concepts and ideas behind the new library of AGU

　　Aoyama Gakuin University’s new library is designed and constructed with an “Academic Base Camp” in mind. This idea from Shimizu Corporation, which aims to make this　library people-centered rather than book-centered, is made possible through three main features.

　　The first pillar that supports the “Academic Base Camp” is the “Spiral of Knowledge”. The lower floors of the establishment are intended for students to interact with the basics of learning, meaning it is accessible to students regardless of departments or majors. The middle floors are one step ahead, made to be a more efficient space for learning by incorporating areas for research. The top floors are for specialized learning, with divided booths and seminar rooms to help students further expand and deepen their knowledge.

　　The second feature the new library boasts is the layout of the floors. Shimizu Corporation prioritized practicality and flexibility, with all the clunk moved to the edges and corners of each floor allowing the middle sections to be used however the university likes. Using cedar in the ceilings and allowing light to shine in easily gives each floor a lively, natural feel so students will feel less cramped and stressed while studying or reading. The semeticulous design choices help students to take the initiative in their academics.

　　The newly incorporated ICT system also contributes to the “Academic Base Camp”. By labeling each book with IC tags and using an automated book storage system, it is proposed that soon, students will be able to make reservations online and have smoother access to AGU’s plenteous stock of knowledge. This advancement also removes the hassle of waiting in line just to find out one’s desired books have already been lent out, leading to a more efficient process for both students and librarians.

Challenges in Construction

　　There were some challenges during construction of a new library. It would be difficult for people to find the sufferings of builders when using the library, so we want to focus on that.

　　First, Shimizu Corporation had to demolish University Bldg. 4, 5, 6, 10, and the pool. (Those facilities were standing until April 2021, but all of them were pulled down until November 2021.)
The builders considered about the ways to demolish for minimizing the impact on students’studies.
For example, they put crosswalks in the flow line to the Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall(University
Gymnasium), inducing construction vehicles with priority for students.
　　Also, while building the new library, Shimizu Corporation received a new order, the demolition
work of IVY HALL. Therefore, it was necessary to make big changes to the original construction
plan. The builders put the platform for loading and unloading construction vehicles.
　　Furthermore, builders changed the heavy construction equipment, from crawler crane to tower crane. Crawler cranes are used on the ground, suitable for lifting heavy things. On the other hand, tower cranes are suitable for high locations, used on buildings.

Interview with Professor Date, Director of Library

In addition to the interviews with Shimizu Corporation, EIZY interviewed Professor Date of the College of Literature. Professor Date is the director of the library, who has deep insights and passions to the construction project. He gave a lot of information about both the new and current libraries throughout the interview.

Please tell us the direct reason for rebuilding the library in Aoyama Campus. 

—The most important reason is the deterioration of the current library. This library

was built in the 1970s, so nearly 50 years have passed since completion of the construction. It cannot handle the stream of barrier free. From the view of the users, the few seats and books is a serious problem, too. Actually, the plan of rebuilding the library appeared in the 2000s, but rebuilding the library requires a huge amount of money since it is such a big architecture. At the same time, the plan of relocating the campus was a hot topic. Because of that situation, the library rebuilding plan did not proceed. Several years passed, in the 2010s, IT technology advanced dramatically world wide. In response to this, a new library plan aimed to adopt these advanced technologies appeared in 2016. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic became an important factor, too. Under the pandemic, AGU students could not come to the campus and had to take all classes online, face to face and/or on demand. Then we decided to verify the plan to optimize the function of the new building. It was the best time to rebuild. If we have missed this chance, we would never be able to ride this wave of technological developments.

What is the concept of the new AGU library?

—New library’s concept is “library more than the library itself”. So far, the library mainly targets “the study”. We want to change this: we are making the new library interactive and student-centered. We will install the electronic-resources, and take in the institute of information and media, and academic writing center (AWC). We aim to build a new library where a Wide-range of students can come. So we will make it easier for students to come to the new library. In addition, we will create rooms where students can have intellectual chatting: in ordinary libraries, users should not speak so as not to interfere with other　users. In the new AGU library, however, users will be able to feel approachable.

Please tell us about the accessibility of the new library for users.

—As I have mentioned, one of the decisive factors is the massive progress of advanced technology. So in the new library, users can use the most advanced technologies. Because of this concept, we aspire for the new library to grow with students. At first, we set up only core infrastructure and systems. We will examine how the new library is used by students through a survey, and adopt their needs to the facility. This means that the more students visit and use the new library, the more the new library will develop. In detail, we placed electrical outlets for each seat and expanded the capacity of Wi-Fi in the new library. From next spring, the library system will be integrated with the system of the library in Sagamihara Campus. As for self-service, we placed automatic bookshelves. As a breakthrough, we made the wall inside the new library able to move, so that the building is more tailored to users’ needs. The placement of walls, machines, and other equipment may change.

How did the process of deciding the floor of the new library go?

—We aimed to make the new library easy to visit for students. The current library is located too back on campus, so the new library is being built in a more visitable place: it is directly connected to the east entrance of the campus. In addition to this, the new library aims to achieve the balance between the ease of arrival and the latest research. We imaged a multi-layered structure, first and second floor are the media center and AWC. Lower floors would become an open and soft place. In this room, as I said before, students will be able to enjoy intellectual chatting. Third floor will be open and students can overlook the entire floor. In contrast to this open lower floors, upper floors will be spaces of expertise. We will have private rooms and researchers can concentrate on their own studies. Again and again, we're trying to make it easier for students to come. So, through the designing phase, we conducted a survey on students and discussed design and concept with Shimizu Corporation. It was very hard work to think about the design and balance the ease of visitation and minimum security because the new library has a lot of expensive facilities.

I am wondering here, what will happen to the current library building after the new library is completed? Will it be converted to some other facility or demolished?

—Actually, we do not know how the current library would be treated after the

completion of construction including whether it would be demolished or not. I would like to know about

that, too. We just do not know, but someone might know about this topic.

It surprised me that you do not know everything about the future of the current library. Let us change the topic. Would the members of the library such as librarian be replaced after the new library started working?

—I think major members of the library will move to the new library and work there,

but some members of the library might transfer to another sector or else as part of routine personnel changes.

This is the last question from us. Please give a message to the students.

—At first, please just drop in for a short visit to the new library, and feel “the opened library”. You can explore on your own, come with friends, and even experience new encounters. Be aware of these things. Imagine that students visit there at least once a day. Students come to share the same space, but each student has a different purpose. There are a lot of varieties of students. In addition to this, graduate students, professors, and researchers also come to the library. People will do different kinds of activities, but the common point is that all of these people come to the library to concentrate on their own things they love. Image of AGU may change through these people. I wish this new library will become one of the core identities of the university. Saying more, I wish it will become the first thing that comes to mind when you imagine AGU’s Aoyama campus.