With an increasing number of students crowding Alden Library, especially during finals week, its aging heating system is struggling to keep up with the building’s capacity.
“We’ve had several projects in the past few years to help medicate (the heating problem), but there’s still more to go,” said Scott Seaman, dean of the Ohio Universities Libraries. With a possible 10 percent budget reduction next year, the library probably will not have the funds to fix the problem entirely, he added.
The library’s total budget is about $10.5 million, Seaman said.
OU’s Facilities Management has funded two projects during the past year to help Alden’s heating system function more efficiently. The library replaced some air handlers in the building last year, which helped improve air circulation and cost $425,000, said Ron Young, Alden’s facilities manager.
Final costs are not yet known for another project completed during Winter Intersession to replace some of the building’s air ducts, but the project had a budget of $861,000, Young said, adding that project costs are under-budget so far.
The biggest problem is on the second floor of the library, which houses the Learning Commons and is the only floor open 24 hours on weekdays.
“I don’t want to over-promise here; (these projects) won’t solve everything, but it’s an important step toward getting the air handling right in this building,” Seaman said. “There will still be problems on the second floor. We need to anticipate that.”
The second floor is typically the most crowded and overheated, Seaman said.
“The air handlers that work on the second floor were never designed for the load that is in there,” he said, adding that traffic in and out of the library has more than doubled during the past five years. “This building was designed for less than half the occupancy it regularly supports now, so the air handlers are simply overloaded.”
Although some students in Alden said they have not noticed problems with the building’s heating system, others said it is a distraction.
“Once the other floors close, I go home just because I don’t want to sit on the second floor,” said Mike Becka, a junior studying finance. He said he does not notice similar heating problems on other floors.
Another student said that although the building’s overheating does not prevent her from coming to Alden, it is still an annoyance.
“I’ve tried saying something, and (the library staff) couldn’t do anything,” said Kait Harnish, a senior studying sport management. “I still come here all the time, but it’s annoying. I notice it during the nighttime. It’s always hot.”
The library surveys students “pretty regularly,” and air handling ranks as the second-most popular complaint. Alden’s lack of sufficient quiet study space tops the list as the most common complaint, Seaman said.
Seaman is looking at “what it would take to re-envision the whole building,” but said replacing air handlers and ductwork is very expensive. With budget cuts, there is no funding yet for such a project, he said.
The library must also find a way to pay for about 110 new computers for the second floor, Seaman said. The average Alden computer lasts about 36 months, and those on the second floor are about a year old.
“We don’t have a lot of flexibility to purchase new computers,” Seaman said. “… It will be a challenge.”
pe219007@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCampus
