Deb Pearson, head of circulation for Love Library, makes her way onto the roof while inspecting construction progress Sept. 15. Contractors are working on the installation of a new ventilation system as part of the renovation going on at the library.

When It's All Done, You're Going to Love the New Love

By Kim Hachiya, Public Relations

Yes, it's hard to find the door and once you're inside, it's somewhat intimidating to pick your way through construction equipment and drywall dust. But Love Library is open for business as usual, albeit in a slightly modified fashion.

"We had to move lots of the collection from Love South into Love North," said Deb Pearson, associate professor of libraries. "Unfortunately, we had to remove most of the student seating to do that, and we didn't have enough of that anyway."

The $12.3 million project's main goal is the replacement of the library's ancient heating, air conditioning and ventilation system. But renovation squalor will also yield up new ADA-compliant elevators, restrooms on every floor, new office suites for the dean and other administrators, a more efficient use of space, a clustering of services onto one floor, and well-lit, updated study carrels in the stacks areas.

"This place was hot, dry and dreary," Pearson said of Love South. "There was the perception that it was an unsafe environment, because it was so dark and gloomy. This project improves the atmosphere literally, but also will change the look of the stacks by making them so much more physically welcoming and inviting with carpeting, paint and lights. It's an aesthetic upgrade that is so much more user friendly."

The stacks also will be sprinkled, so fire will be less of a concern.

"When books burn, all you have left is ashes. But if a sprinkler goes off, and you get to the books immediately, you can freeze-dry them, or microfilm them and preserve them," she said. The sprinklers are also a necessary life-safety addition.

Users also will find that with the proper computer cards, they will be able to access the Internet through wireless connections in the libraries and those without those cards will find ample data ports throughout the the library.

When completed in January 2002, the main entrance will return to Love South under the "link." Visitors will notice a new vestibule area that more closely emulates the original 1940s appearance. The dean's office area will become the circulation desk (the office suites are moving to the third floor) and the old half-moon circulation desk will be replaced by the new elevators and restroom entrances.

"And you will be able to actually see books," Pearson said. "It bothers some of our patrons that they cannot actually see books when they walk into the library."

A good portion of the million-plus books will have been moved at least once by the time the renovation is completed. During a two-year planning phase, the libraries decided to hire a professional firm from Chicago, Hallett, that specializes in moving libraries. Pearson said the firm periodically comes to Lincoln and in a frenzy of packing and marking, can relocate up to 60,000 volumes in two days.

"It's pretty amazing to watch," Pearson said.

Most of the books are moving up one floor. That's because Archives and Special Collections, once on third floor, is moving into a more secure space in the basement. Stuff in the basement is moving up one flight, and the other stacks are moving up in domino fashion.

Books remain in order because only the mapping system changed, not their Library of Congress numbers.

Despite the upheaval, the process won't gain the library much space. "It's basically rearranging our space so we can use it more efficiently," Pearson said.

For example, Archives will "gain" space because it can push shelves closer together. Its old third-floor location did not have load-bearing floors, so the shelves had to be 16 feet apart. In the basement, the shelves can be more closely spaced. It will be easier to control humidity and temperature in the basement, she said, and sunlight will no longer be a problem. A new vault and exhibition areas also will be added so people can see some of the university's treasures.

"We are pretty excited by the potential this offers," she said.

The fourth floor office carrels for faculty and graduate students have been renovated and some may reopen in October. The rooms were painted and carpeted but original woodwork and glass and oak doors were retained. "That's part of the real ambience of this space," Pearson said.

There were efforts to retain "ambience," Pearson noted. The big multi-paned double-hung windows are being renovated to be more energy efficient but still retain that Georgian feel. Woodwork, marble and other materials also were maintained.

The fourth floor also houses the "penthouse," an area in the center of the building where the new mechanical systems have been sited. The big crane that sat on the Love South lawn for six months lifted the fans and other equipment to this area.

Among other changes, the Great Plains Art Collection is moving to the new Que Place building and its former gallery will become a student reading room. Friends of the Libraries is fundraising to buy furnishings; they will also have office space in this area. The auditorium entrance will also shift slightly with a goal toward easing congestion that occurs now during class changes.

Pearson said library users have been pretty flexible and understanding in adapting to the inconvenience. The Union has extended hours to accommodate studiers. The libraries are encouraging use of its various branches. And some areas are still accessible.

"Students are never in harm's way. If they feel uncomfortable, we can get the materials for them," she said. "We really haven't had too many complaints."

Sampson Construction Co. and Shanahan Electrical are the general contractors, she said. Clark Enersen Partners designed the project.

Pearson said she has learned a lot about the construction business, and she praised the construction team.

"They are great, cordial and cooperative folks. They aren't used to working in an occupied building, so we have learned to be flexible and ask a lot of questions of each other," she said. For instance, everyone came to a pretty quick agreement about when jackhammering could occur during the day because of the noise and disruption to classes.

NU Researchers Earn Department of Energy Grants to Study Carbon Sequestration in Nebraska Ag Lands

By Vicki Miller, IANR science writer

University of Nebraska researchers are launching research to examine Nebraska farmland's potential for reducing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas associated with global warming.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded university scientists two grants totaling $580,000 annually for three years to study carbon sequestration, or storage, in soil. The grants will fund instruments, personnel and operating expenses for comprehensive field research at NU's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Neb. The Nebraska Corn Board has provided supplemental funds for this research.

Shashi Verma, a micrometeorologist in UNL's School of Natural Resource Sciences, and Ken Cassman, agronomy department head, co-lead the interdisciplinary research team of faculty from UNL's School of Natural Resources Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, departments of agronomy, agricultural economics, biological systems engineering and electrical engineering, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service and from UNO's geography-geology department.

Starting next spring, the team will begin continuously measuring carbon fluxes - the carbon absorbed and emitted by the land - from three cropping systems. This will provide detailed data on how much carbon enters and leaves these fields under different crop management schemes. Many factors influence how much carbon is absorbed and released by the soil, including the time of year, weather and management practices, such as tillage and fertilization.

They'll study a range of dryland and irrigated cropping systems, Verma said. They're particularly interested in understanding carbon sequestration under Nebraska's highly productive irrigated agriculture. Little is known about carbon storage capacity in irrigated systems.

The project aims to identify key factors controlling carbon sequestration in irrigated and dryland crop systems, and to eventually develop cost-effective management tactics to increase it.

Steadily increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have raised concerns about climate change. There's growing interest in storing carbon in agricultural lands while more permanent solutions for reducing fossil fuels are explored. Utility companies or other major fossil fuel users might pay farmers or ranchers to store carbon in soil in exchange for credit toward their carbon dioxide emissions.

"Agriculture is a good candidate for carbon sequestration," Verma said. "It's one of those unique opportunities to benefit both the environment and farming."

It's promising, but to be practical scientists need to better understand carbon sequestration under different conditions and farming systems. Carbon cycles through soil naturally. The challenges are measuring how much carbon enters and leaves soil and finding ways to store more in stable organic matter while minimizing losses. Many farming practices that improve soil quality and boost crop yields also enhance carbon sequestration.

NU is uniquely qualified to conduct this carbon flux research. Verma's team has worked nearly 20 years developing the technology and methods to precisely measure daily fluxes of atmospheric gases, and has developed unique expertise and measurement tools.

"Nebraska is tailor-made for this research," Cassman said. "If we're going to talk about paying farmers to increase carbon storage in their soils, we need to know how much is being stored and the production costs involved."

Carbon sequestration is complex, but researchers hope to provide some answers within three to five years.

This research is conducted in cooperation with the NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources' Agricultural Research Division.

The following Information from Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman Concerning UNL's Comprehensive Diversity Plan is dated Sept. 21, 2000.

In June, 1999, the second draft of UNL's Comprehensive Diversity Plan was presented to the campus community. At that time, Chancellor (James) Moeser encouraged all of us to continue investing in the Plan's recommendations and to periodically assess outcomes that impact the Plan's stated initiatives and practices.

I am pleased to report that members of the campus community have continued to invest themselves in our Comprehensive Diversity Plan. The list that follows is a sample of some of the many activities going on in this area:

o The educational seminars designed to help campus supervisors understand and practice prevention and remediation of illegal discrimination have been attended by more than 900 individuals and sessions are continuing to be offered.

o The Office of Civil Rights recommended clarification of several campus policies in regard to the prevention and remediation of harassment and discrimination. The OCR recommended including statements regarding the responsibility to act, the range of sanctions, the timeframes for the major steps in a response, and information about the responsibility of administrators to report resolutions. UNL's four relevant policy documents reflect those recommendations: The Policy and Procedures on Unlawful Discrimination, Including Sexual and Other Prohibited Harassment http:// www.unl.edu/unlpub/howto/100/ 115.html#harassment; the procedures of the Academic Senate Rights and Responsibilities Committee http://www.unl .edu/asenate/committees/comindex.html; Human Resources Grievance Procedures http://www.unl.edu /unlpub /howto/100/111.html; and the Student Code of Conduct, available in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs or in the final chapter of the current Undergraduate Bulletin http://www.unl. edu/unlpub/undergrad/undergrad.html.

o Both the Diversity Summit and the Faculty Liaison Task Force have acknowledged the potential of the Comprehensive Education Program to proactively and positively impact campus climate.

o The Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs continue to administrate a number of small grants from the diversity reallocation funds to support a variety of faculty projects and student programs.

o We have contracted with the Office of Dispute Resolution to use the services of its statewide network of mediation centers. Although procedural details of this service are still being developed, information about mediation has been presented to the Deans and Directors and information for all faculty and staff will be provided in the very near future.

o Diversity reallocation resources will help to fund the conference "Race in America: Analytical and Policy Perspectives in the 21st Century" planned for Nov. 2-3. Nationally recognized scholars will lead a series of discussions on some of the critical issues surrounding race.

It is important to regularly gauge our progress, especially as it provides a continuing benchmark of where we may still improve. I congratulate all of you on our accomplishments as a community, and urge your ongoing commitment to strengthening our diversity.

Sincerely,

Harvey Perlman

Interim Chancellor