Transforming Baker Library
Baker Library, long the primary icon associated with Harvard Business School, is getting a total makeover. During the summer, the School began an extensive renovation of the stately 1927 building. By late 2005, the new Baker Library/Academic Center will be completed, with a larger footprint, up-to-date technology, and a second main entrance that will face south, toward the School’s Allston neighborhood.
According to Angela Crispi (MBA ’90), associate dean for administration, the new Baker Library/Academic Center will be a place that strengthens the intellectual community at HBS. “We envision faculty, students, alumni, and outside scholars coming together to build knowledge,” says Crispi. “We hope to achieve this goal by creating a facility that fosters collaboration, interaction, and integration among these groups.”
New features will include office and meeting spaces for faculty and researchers, as well as a multimedia discussion and conference space called “The Exchange,” intended for spirited debate and collaboration. The core library functions will also expand. With special attention to preserving the historic north river-facing façade, the south half of the building is slated for demolition. The building’s footprint will then be extended another eight feet to the south, netting an additional thirty thousand square feet of space. Restoration of the historic lobby and third-floor reading room will be done with some very modern uses in mind: lighting will be improved along with data connections and climate conditioning. Even the furniture will get an upgrade.
The library’s collections will be located in the main reading room and the two lower levels, while a central stair hall will bring natural light into the center of the building. A total of 66 faculty offices will be arrayed along the perimeter of each floor, and offices for librarians and support staff will be located on the first and third floors. “Great care is going into preserving our world-class collections,” says Frank Hayes (PMD 75, 2000), chief of operations at HBS. The books will be located in compact shelving “stacks” that are both temperature- and humidity-controlled and protected from other harmful effects such as ultraviolet rays and vermin.
The firm Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott began developing the concept for the renovation in the spring of 2001 along with a dedicated team from HBS. The plan was developed over the next year following discussions with faculty, staff, and MBA and doctoral students. To come up with the design, HBS tapped Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the firm that designed Spangler Center, which teamed up with Finegold Alexander & Associates, the group that restored Mellon Hall.
The project gained momentum in the late spring with the precisely orchestrated migration of library materials and over two hundred people from the building. As of July 2, Baker Library was empty, and the construction crews were on the scene.
For the duration of the construction, the HBS community will find most of what it needs in the temporary Baker Library at Kresge Hall. Some materials and collections will require advance requests for access. “We have carefully planned for interim services during the renovation,” notes Crispi. “Every existing service has been relocated so that library patrons will sacrifice nothing. In some cases, such as the book-delivery program, the service levels will actually increase during the renovation.”
— Margie Kelley
