After 41 years of service, the Biological Science Library at the University of Massachusetts will close permanently at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, and relocate to the newly renovated Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library.
The ISEL, now known as the Physical Sciences and Engineering Library, is located on the second floor of the Lederle Graduate Research Center.
Faculty, students and researchers who plan to use materials from the Morrill collection during Intersession should check them out before the facility closes on Dec. 19. BSL faculty will inform users of procedures used to request items during the transition.
Anne C. Moore, head of reference services and acting head of research and instructional services at the BSL, said students may forget about the increased walking distance because of longer hours, new computers, an increase in seating, flexible space and wireless Internet service for the laptop users.
“It has been hard to cover two places at once because we didn’t have enough staff to cover hours, Branch Reference Librarian Naka Ishii said. “This is why the hours were short at the BSL.”
The ISEL will have the same hours as the PSEL, which had longer hours than the BSL, Ishii said.
According to Ishii, with the additional hours the faculty is in need of hiring additional staff.
Before the fall, the research library conducted a survey open to UMass faculty and students regarding the merge and renovations to the PSEL. This survey was recommended to the Faculty Senate and was the deciding factor for merge, Moore said.
The BSL was created in 1962 and has had only five head librarians in over 40 years. Now there are only two left.
The library gradually expanded through 1970-71, and now provides librarians, reference sources, information books, journal articles and research help in the fields of biology and geosciences. It does not include medicine and health services.
With the closing of the library also comes some disappointment from the library staff.
“Librarians feel strong about the closing of libraries,” said Ishii. “It’s like closing a church. People who have worked in this building will miss this space.”
Moore agreed: “It will be difficult to think of it not being here. It’s like losing a loved one.” She went on, saying, “The University has gone about this the right way, by taking their time in the decision process of the BSL. They went out and consulted people who it would impact.”
