The 30-year history of Washington State University’s Terrell Library is one of adaptation, according to Phil Gruen, a professor in the School of Design and Construction. Terrell’s completion in 1994 helped save the library system; the existing Holland Library, completed in 1950, was running out of room for books by the early 1990s. (For a deep dive into Terrell’s construction, read this WSU Insider story.)
Today, digitization, the internet, smart phones, and artificial intelligence have made the need for more book space less pressing. Again, Terrell Library pivoted to meet a different kind of need.
“Space has become more available to create study lounges, collaborative areas and stations, student services, centers, such as the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation, and maker-type rooms, such as the Dimensions Lab,” Gruen said. “As a result, the library remains one of the most active buildings on campus.”
Gruen will present a lecture, “Spaces of Knowledge: Designing the Future and Past of the Library,” at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, in the Terrell atrium, part of WSU Libraries’ celebration of the library’s 30-year anniversary. A reception follows in the Holland Library lobby’s west entrance. Both lecture and reception are free and open to the public.
WSU Libraries of the future
Gruen suspects more spaces can be created in Terrell and Holland Libraries. Possibilities include the Terrell atrium space under the skylight and the area near Holland Library’s original entrance, which will be accessible to the outside for the first time in 30 years after the lecture.
“If we do not yet know what the future holds for university libraries, we do know that there will always be a need to find places to study or gather, and WSU Libraries have the space, and the spaces, to accommodate that need,” he said.
Gruen added that WSU Libraries seek to preserve, repurpose, or reuse historic resources rather than knocking them down and starting over.
“Terrell and Holland Libraries prove that they have stood the test of time,” he said.
Always the heart of campus
Bonny Boyan, WSU Libraries’ assistant to the dean, began her first day of work in the WSU Libraries on Aug. 25, 1994, the day the “New Library” was dedicated. She recalled the heightened enthusiasm for the new library, and the dedication event, held on the new library lawn roof, was an enormous success.
“I remember being impressed that the staff all seemed to be united together for the same cause,” she said.
When the library was named after former WSU president Glenn Terrell in 2006, his portrait was installed in the hallway near the entrance to the reference area, where it remains today. Terrell came to Pullman for the dedication, and after seeing the portrait, he asked for a private meeting with the library director, Boyan said.
“He was concerned that the portrait didn’t look at all like him,” she said. “Everyone else thought the artist captured his likeness perfectly!”
Terrell Library continues to be the preferred study and gathering spot on campus, Boyan said. “While walking around campus, I often overhear conversations that focus on the libraries. Holland and Terrell Libraries will always be the heart of the campus.”
