A proposed building move has the Urban and Regional Planning Program concerned about the fate of its in-house library, which harbors more than 35,000 planning reports from around the globe.
The Office of Planning and Budgets is discussing a plan to move the four units of the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction into the Human Ecology Building, said Eric Strauss, director of the school's Urban and Regional Planning Program. The four programs are currently spread throughout different buildings on campus.
"It's pretty preliminary, but the current proposal does not include room for the library," Strauss said.
Officials in the Office of Planning and Budgets did not return repeated phone calls made to their office during the last week.
The Charles W. Barr Planning & Design Library is on the second floor of the Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Building on the corner of Red Cedar and Wilson roads.
It would be more cost efficient to combine more library materials under one roof, said Cliff Haka, MSU's director of libraries.
"It costs more to operate different branches all over campus," Haka said. "Plus, the Main Library is open 24 hours a day."
Last week, Strauss, along with directors of other programs within the school, met with officials in Facilities Planning and Space Management — a division of the Office of Planning and Budgets — to talk about the proposal.
"Everyone wants this library, but the university has a space problem," Strauss said. "There's not enough space for everybody's wish list."
He said he wants to stay upbeat about the talks until any final decisions are made.
"It's probably the first of many proposals," Strauss said. "And our move wouldn't be until 2007, so it's not like the trucks are rolling in tomorrow."
Nevertheless, some students and faculty have openly expressed concerns.
"It's an extremely important element to our program," said Rex LaMore, a senior specialist in the Urban and Regional Planning Program. "We have a rare collection of documents that are one of a kind in Michigan."
Various governmental agencies throughout Michigan refer to the materials for urban planning and landscape design projects, LaMore said.
Jeff Vitton, a research assistant and urban and regional planning senior, said the library is a valuable resource and is vital to the cohesiveness of the program.
The program currently has about 100 undergraduates and about 50 master's students.
"It's one of the main reasons I chose to come to MSU," Vitton said. "And its closing would be inconsistent with our statement of being a land-grant university."
One possible solution for the library's materials would be to move them to the Main Library, Haka said.
"The move would not be easy and it wouldn't be graceful, but it is certainly possible," he said.
