Geisel Library: Difference between revisions

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In 1958, Roger Revelle's efforts to establish an Institute of Science and Engineering adjacent to the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]] were spearheaded by his desire to immediately construct a science and library building on the present [[Revelle College]] site. When the university was eventually constructed, university librarian Melvin Voigt devised a plan to purchase books for the three new [[University of California|UC]] campuses: UC San Diego, [[UC Santa Cruz]], and [[UC Irvine]]. The first Science and Engineering Library in Urey Hall satisfied the science-focused school's needs.
 
However, as faculty recruits began to found social science and humanities departments, it became clear to Chancellor [[John Semple Galbraith]] that the time had come to establish the campus's main library collections. One of the conditions of Galbraith's acceptance of the UC San Diego chancellorship had been that UC San Diego would house one of the three great libraries of the UC system.<ref name="aiv">{{cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Nancy Scott|title=An Improbable Venture: A History of the University of California, San Diego|date=1993|publisher=UCSD Press|___location=La Jolla|edition=1st|url=http://library.ucsd.edu/historyofucsd/index.html#aiv_titlepage|access-date=7 April 2016|ref=An Improbable Venture: A History of the University of California, San Diego}}</ref> To accomplish this end, he formed a committee which commissioned architect [[William L. Pereira]] to prepare a master plan for the University Center and its focal point, the Central Library.<ref name="pereiras">{{cite web|last1=Gray|first1=Barbara T.|title=Central Library, University of California, San Diego|url=http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/DigitalArchives/z679_2u54w7_1969/z679_2_u54-w7-1969.pdf|website=UCSD Libraries|publisher=William L. Pereira and Associates|access-date=7 April 2016|ref=Central Library Report}}</ref> Pereira and his team, who were still retained as campus architects by the University at California, Irvine, produced the plans and designs from their [[Buffalo Ranch|Urbanus Square]] facility in Irvine.
 
Pereira's plan called for the University Center to be moved north and east, along with the proposed library building. This resulted in a revision of the campus long-range development plan: the three "clusters" of four colleges each would be more compact, allowing for an auxiliary library in each cluster. The proposed building was designed around a spheroidal tower, to maximize the stacks area that could be accessed in a given time from the center. This tower was to be situated atop a main level containing the staff and public areas of the library.