INTERFACE - Dartmouth Collegecollab/institutions/dartmouth/winter98.pdfInterface is available on the World Wide Web at: ... traffic on the smaller link, bringing a boost in performance

Computing News of Dartmouth College / Winter 1998INTERFACE

Interface: Winter 1998

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Interface

Volume 29 Number 2

Interface is published quarterlyby Dartmouth ComputingServices. In printed form, it isdistributed on a subscriptionbasis free of charge to students,faculty, and staff of DartmouthCollege, and other interestedparties. It is produced on Appleand Dell computers usingAdobe® PageMaker® andPhotoshop® and other graphicand word-processing software.Text and headlines are set inPalatino, Univers, and ZapfDingbats.

•For a paper subscription,send a request as follows:E-mail: [email protected] mail: HB 6028U.S. mail: Computing ServicesDartmouth College6028 Kiewit Computation CenterHanover, NH 03755-3523Interface is available onthe World Wide Web at:http://www.dartmouth.edu/

comp/intrface

and in DCIS Navigator.•

Publication Staff:Bill Brawley, EditorMarie Stebbins, Assistant Editor

•BlitzMail is a registered trade-mark and InterNews and Mac-Ping are trademarks of theTrustees of Dartmouth College.Other trademarked names areused in an editorial fashionthroughout this publication.Ownership of those trademarksbelongs to the developers of theproducts the trademarks rep-resent. The absence of anytrademarks or notices is inad-vertent and in no way reflects anintention by Dartmouth Collegeor the publishers or authors ofthis newsletter to infringe uponthe proprietary nature of thosetrademarks.

Dartmouth’s network connection toother research institutions becamemuch faster in late December, whena new link between Hanover and theNew York City area was turned on.

The connection to the nationalvery-high-speed Backbone NetworkService (vBNS) fulfills an importantpart of a two-year, $350,000 grantfrom the National Science Founda-tion for the design, installation, andmanagement of a high-speed connec-tion for Dartmouth researchers.

“We’ve passed a major milestonein this project,” said Director ofComputing Larry Levine. “Thismeans that the research applicationsthat were waiting to take advantageof this high-speed link can nowproceed.”

The vBNS started out as a dedi-cated link between national super-computer centers, and now linksmore than 870 networks around thecountry.

The connection from Hanover toWest Orange, NJ, transfers data atspeeds up to 45 megabits per second.By contrast, Dartmouth’s currentlink to the Internet can operate atup to 3 megabits per second.

If traffic from Dartmouth is boundfor another vBNS network, it will beswitched to the faster connection

automatically. That should alleviatetraffic on the smaller link, bringing aboost in performance for manyInternet users.

At some point in the future, theconnection for regular Internet trafficwill be switched into the vBNS link.That will bring even faster perform-ance, in such a way that researchuses are assigned the highest priorityduring busy periods.

Levine said the next step in theproject is to support faculty whomay need expert help as they deploytheir network-dependent researchapplications. Computing Serviceswill also continue to urge Bell Atlan-tic and MCI, the two vendors whosupply the connection betweenHanover and New Jersey, to makeavailable an even faster vBNS linkof 155 megabits per second. Specialthanks to Stephen Campbell andPunch Taylor of Technical Servicesfor their hard work in making thisconnection a reality.

To see a list of vBNS networksand their associated institutions,check out http://www.vbns.net/netmaps.html. Details regardingDartmouth’s Internet 2 projectare available at http://www.dartmouth.edu/comp/news/i2/

New Link Speeds

Research at Dartmouth

Computing Code Is UpdatedThe Council on Computing ap-proved revisions to the ComputingCode at its meeting January 22,1998.

The Dartmouth College Computerand Network Policy contains Dart-mouth’s philosophy and require-ments governing student, faculty,

and staff use of its informationtechnology resources.

More information about the Codewill appear in the Spring 1998 issueof Interface.

The new version is at http://www.dartmouth.edu/comp/code.html


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From the Start, Berry PlanningGuided By Task Force Report: 4

For Architects, the Berry ProjectTakes Function to A New Level: 6

Common History, ThemesLink Computing and the Library: 8

Careful, Considered PlanningKeeps Berry Process on Track: 10

Faculty, Student Services Centered on Berry’s Level One: 12

Classrooms Will Meet Demandsfor Instructional Technology: 14

Instructional Centers:From Famine to Feast: 15

From Many to Few:Streamlined Services Are Coming: 16

Other Computing Divisions:Where Will They Be Located?: 18

Looking Back at Kiewit:Building for an Uncertain Future: 20

Berry Library:

A Special Report

Departments/Other NewsNew Link Speeds Research at Dartmouth: 2

Computing Code is Updated: 2Recommended Personal Computer Systems: 23

Where to Get Help: 24

On The Cover: An altered rendering of the façade of Berry Library from project plans on display at Baker Library. This page: Rock climber onGerry Hall. Credit for all photographs in this issue: College Photographer Joseph Mehling ‘69 (pages 21 and 22, Computing Services archives).


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One of the most valuable parts ofthe Berry Library planning processhas been a slim, perfect bound book,the Report of the Task Force on theLibrary of the 21st Century: TheBerry and Baker Libraries.

Participants in both the early taskforce sessions that set forth the visionfor Berry Library and the subsequentprogram development phase say the51-page report has played a key rolein guiding the huge and complexprocess of creating a radically newtype of library.

“The Task Force report has beenessential to the work we’ve doneduring the past year and a half,”said John Crane, chair of the LibraryBuilding Committee and the Li-brary’s Director of Administration.

President James O. Freedmanappointed the Task Force in October1993. His instructions: “to think cre-atively about Dartmouth’s libraryfacilities of the future, particularlywith regard to information technol-ogy, and to make recommendationsabout the design and function of thenew Berry Library.”

The group, under the leadershipof William C. Scott, Humanities Dis-tinguished Research Professor andDartmouth Professor of Classics,adopted a practical attitude from thestart. For example, the “committee”quickly became a “task force” “be-cause we never worked like a com-mittee,” Scott said. “We had a job todo. We decided early on that we hadto build the (library) program fromthe bottom up. We had to decidewhat we wanted in the new library.”

During the first term, the TaskForce set about gathering input fromthe Dartmouth community. Roughly5,000 letters and e-mails were sent topeople throughout the campus and

beyond, inviting comment on theproject.

The feedback was assembled andconsidered during subsequent terms.Many good ideas came out of thecomments — including the conceptfor the 24-hour cafe. There wasn’tany food service in that area of cam-pus, and the cafe fit the notion ofencouraging people to be in the li-brary, Scott said: “It linked into theidea of village culture.”

“People wanted everything to bein this library,” Associate ProvostMargaret Dyer-Chamberlain, amember of the Task Force, said.Some of the suggestions were quitespecific. For example, there werenotes about retaining the granite

walls on Bradley and Gerry for thebenefit of rock climbers, shouldthose buildings be torn down.

Those suggestions sparked somediscussion in the Task Force abouthow to frame the report — should itbe general and focus on outlining abroad vision? Or should it contain arange of specific design recommen-dations? The group decided to keepthe recommendations fairly general.

“The Task Force didn’t have to dothe figures,” Scott said. “Our chargewas to assess Dartmouth’s needs forthe next 20 years, and the buildingcommittee would then try to meetas many of those needs as possible,within the space and budget for thenew library.”

The Task Force did have to beaware of some broad limitations,because many elements that mightbe included in Berry simply wouldnot fit in the planned amount ofspace. That’s where having a broadmembership on the Task Force wasespecially helpful.

The group’s members hailed fromall corners of the College — students,faculty, and staff, and from everyschool, including the professionalschools — “as broad a group as itcould be,” Scott said.

The intent was to bring a widerange of viewpoints into the process,especially from faculty and students,Dyer-Chamberlain said. The resultwould hopefully be a library planthat could be claimed by everyonein the community, developed by arepresentative group that could givethe plans a broad, institution-wideendorsement.

The final report, released in May1995, contained the basic designgoals that have guided the projectto this day. Among the points:

From the Start, Berry Planning

Guided By Task Force Report

The Berry GiftBerry Library is named forJohn W. Berry ’44, of Dayton,Ohio, and his family, whodonated a total of $27 millionto Dartmouth. John Berry’sgift of $25 million is the larg-est individual donation in thehistory of the College. Hisson George Berry ’66 and theLoren M. Berry Foundation,established by John Berry’sgrandfather, each committedan additional $1 million.

The project also receiveda $3 million donation fromGeorge F. Baker III of NewYork City, whose great-grandfather George F. Bakermade the 1926 gift that madeBaker Library possible. Alltold, with subsequent gifts byMr. Berry and Mr. Baker, thetotal gifts of $35 million arethe largest benefactions inDartmouth’s history.


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• Berry Library should be inte-grated with a renovated Baker Li-brary, “to serve as a crossroads ofthe campus.”

• Berry Library should havespace “for user education in a rangeof print and electronic informationformats.”

• Berry Library’s design “mustallow for and enable the expansionof cooperation between the Librarystaff and the Computing Servicesstaff.”

• Space in both Baker and Berry“must be designed with maximumflexibility in order to permit easyadjustment to emerging technologyas well as changes in staff organiza-tion.”

• “Resources for information tech-nology should be spread throughout

the building and made available toall users.”

Those broad goals are in theminds of many Library BuildingCommittee members, becausemany of them were members of

the original Task Force. And the re-port’s goals proved flexible enoughto accommodate some tremendouspressures — such as the need to de-molish Kiewit and to reduce morethan 300,000 square feet of desirableprogram elements to fit into 200,000square feet of space in the combinedBerry and Baker libraries.

The Task Force process itself isapparently unique for a project ofthis scale, Scott said. During a recentmeeting of the Society of Collegeand University Planners, Scott andDyer-Chamberlain discussed theproject at a very well attended panel.“They were blown away by theamount of time, effort, and care wetook in developing a plan,” Dyer-Chamberlain said.

A view toward the west of the combined Baker and Berry libraries, as viewed from an architect’s model.

The final report,released in May

1995, contained thebasic design goals

that have guidedthe projectto this day.


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Geoffrey Freeman, of the Boston-based architectural firm ShepleyBulfinch Richardson and Abbott, isrecognized as the pre-eminent li-brary architect in the United States.And of all the recent projects Free-man has been involved with, theBerry Library project is setting thestandard for academic librarydesign.

While other recent library projectshave integrated some degree of tech-nology into traditional, collection-centered facilities, the Berry projectbrings the two together on a newscale. That in itself is very exciting,Freeman said, because other librarieswith modest technology componentshave seen usage explode.

A variety of factors preventedother schools from undertakingmore ambitious experiments in li-brary design. However, Dartmouth’scircumstances have differed in im-portant ways right from the start,Freeman said, and have combined tocreate a library project that is trulyvisionary in scope.

For starters, both Freeman andShepley Bulfinch partner CaroleWedge point to the stabilizing in-fluence of the Task Force report as away to keep all interested parties onthe same track.

“The task force report continuesto inform the mission here,” Wedgesaid. “Every time we go to do an-other presentation, we go back andcheck ourselves against the report,and it’s always rewarding to say yes,that is what we’re doing.

“The report sets up a very inter-esting kind of parallel check for theplanning process,” she said. “Thereport is as relevant now as it was ayear and a half ago because it waswritten by a much broader group

than is participating in the day-to-day planning. I think that keeps(the library design process) reallyplugged into the mission of theinstitution.”

Another key difference from otherprojects, according to the architects:the working groups setting finaldetails for Berry are more open-minded and less territorial aboutprotecting their organizations thanat other schools, Freeman said. Thathas set the stage for a level of collab-oration that is unprecedented inprojects of this nature.

Part of that willingness to collab-orate is tied to the traditionallystrong service component of Dart-mouth’s library, Freeman said. Thehistorical measure of an institution’slibrary has been collection size — thenumber of volumes contained in thestacks. Expansion of the collectionwas always the priority, especially atbig research universities, and it oftencame at the expense of staff and userworkspaces, Freeman said.

However, those institutions arenow saddled with the legacy of thosemassive collections, Freeman said.They’re now committed to the ex-pensive task of preservation, and asa result, any thoughts about integrat-ing computing technology becomes a“second cousin” behind the needs forclimate-controlled stack space.

Dartmouth’s historical experienceis quite different, and allows for amuch different result, Freeman said.

“The College has always kept itscollection proportionate to its needsand more flexible, with an emphasison use and service and scholarship,”he said. “It’s now in a position tohave a very fine collection and beable to move the building in a waythat’s much more responsive to com-bining and using different formats,to focus on the service of informationrather than simply the storage ofinformation.”

Similarly, Dartmouth’s strong,centralized computing organizationis a unique asset, Freeman said.Many schools that embark on themision of combining media re-sources with computing and alibrary often have decentralizedcomputing operations, and bringingthose elements together under a sin-gle roof can be difficult. By contrast,Dartmouth’s computing group startson a much more equal footing withthe library, Freeman said.

“It is extraordinary, both what thelibrary has offered for services, andwhat Kiewit offers in terms of com-puting to the faculty and students.We don’t see that breadth and depthof services in any other institutions,”Freeman said, and that makes itmuch easier to sustain a “rich,dynamic, and open conversation”

A Shepley Sampler:Emory University Center for Libraryand Information Resources:

http://clair.library.emory.edu/

Leavey Library, University ofSouthern California:

http://www-lib.usc.edu/Info/

Leavey/About_Leavey.html

Walsh Library, FordhamUniversity:

http://www.fordham.edu/

whatnew/watchit.html

Widener Library, HarvardUniversity

http://preserve.harvard.edu/

new/lab.html

For Architects, the Berry Project

Takes Function to A New Level

Continued on page 22


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Another distinguished architec-tural firm has been working onplans for the exterior of the BerryLibrary and its integration with theicon at the heart of the Dartmouthcampus, Baker Library.

Venturi, Scott Brown andAssociates is recognized as oneof the most important firms inthe United States. Its principalpartner, Robert Venturi, has beenhailed as the source of the mostinfluential ideas in late 20th cen-tury architecture.

According to backgroundmaterial from the College, BerryLibrary’s design deliberately

avoids “competition with the grand,neo-Georgian façades of BakerLibrary.” Berry Library will not bevisible from the Dartmouth Green,and the landmark Baker Tower willbe visible above Berry when viewedfrom the north.

“The main façades of Berry Li-brary are contemporary in natureyet draw on sturdy and much-beloved New England vernaculararchitecture found in classic villagesand towns throughout the region,”the press release states. Berry’s loft-style architecture, which allows fortremendous flexibility in the interiorspaces, recalls “mill buildings and

Main Street business blocks of theearly 19th century.”

The long façade of the buildingis gently angled, so its entire masswould not be evident to passersby.The ground floor also includes anopen, continuous free-standingarcade that also helps to reduce thebuilding’s size while also identify-ing an important pedestrianwalkway.

Inside the low-key front en-trance is another Venturi trade-mark: a monumental staircase thatleads up to the first level, the heartof the library and computing serv-ices offered in Berry.

Exterior Form Follows Interior Function

Carole Wedge and Geoffrey Freeman of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott with a model of the north campus.


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To understand why the Library andComputing Services are growingcloser together, consider their recenthistories. Both organizations haveseen immense changes in technologyduring the past 30 years, yet eachhas ended up with more of a servicefocus than ever before.

The active history of ComputingServices begins in earnest in 1959,when the College acquired its firstcomputer. At first, computing re-volved around big machines housedin a central, climate-controlled room.The machines weren’t particularlyeasy to use, and were always keptapart from general users, said Direc-tor of Computing Larry Levine.

However, in the early 1960sDartmouth mathematicians JohnKemeny and Thomas Kurtz saw theearliest computers as teaching toolsthat could be used to enhance theteaching and learning process bydeveloping critical reasoning skills,Levine said. It was their focus onextending the use of computers intoareas that were considered radical atthe time, such as undergraduateeducation and administrative uses,that created an early focus on mak-ing technology accessible to all.

The change to a distributed, net-worked desktop environment tookplace gradually, but it turned themachine-centered computing modelon its ear. When the campus datanetwork was installed in 1984 andApple computers were offered atsteep discounts to students, morethan 70 percent purchased one.

“During the mid-80s, computingworldwide took a leap from the few,the nerds and the wizards, to acommon tool used by everyone,”Levine said. “And we’re still takingthat leap, with the Internet, the Web,

and e-mail. Dartmouth first took thatleap in the 60s.”

The focus in Computing Servicesbecame increasingly support orien-ted — answering questions, teachingpeople how to use the new tools tobest advantage —- as a distributedmodel of computing took hold — apervasive and extensive networkedenvironment where each user had apowerful computer on their desktop.The change is perhaps best reflectedin the architecture of Kiewit: Firstconstructed with a large MachineRoom and an empty basement, staffoffices now stuff the basement. Newoffices continue to be carved out ofspace in the Machine Room, as thosemachines continue to shrink.

A similar change has been takingplace in libraries, where the acquisi-tion and maintenance of collectionswas the historical point of emphasis.Like Kiewit and its special MachineRoom, libraries were built primarilyto house their collections, with staffand users as secondary priorities,

said library architect Geoffrey Free-man of Shepley Bulfinch Richardsonand Abbott of Boston (see relatedstory).

Unlike other academic libraries,Dartmouth’s strength has alwaysrested in its services for users, saidLibrarian of the College MargaretOtto — in helping users to navigatewhat has been a very functionalcollection. But those services havegrown in recent years beyond whatthe original Baker designers hadanticipated. For example, the refer-ence office on the first floor was orig-inally created for a single librarian,Otto said, and the library administra-tive offices now have an extra floorbuilt into a high-ceilinged space.

As Computing Services has mush-roomed during the past 30 years,technology has pervaded nearlyevery aspect of academic life. TheLibrary is no exception. Director ofLibrary User Services Phyllis Jaynescan recall the use of electronic infor-mation systems at Dartmouth whenshe first arrived here in the early1970s.

That has made the Library’scollection much richer, but alsomore complicated, she said. Somehad predicted that electronic toolswould reduce demand for libraryservices, but the exact opposite ishappening, Jaynes said. “People canget started on their own, but thenwe’re consulted at a more advanced,more difficult point in the search.”

Similarly, Computing Services’focus has been not only in develop-ing new technologies, but also inmaking them more accessible forusers, Levine said. Computing andlibrary experts at Dartmouth havecollaborated on various projectssince the late 1960s, most recently

Common History, Themes Link

Computing and the Library

Like Kiewit and itsspecial MachineRoom, libraries

were builtprimarily to house

their collections,with staff and

users assecondarypriorities.


9

with the creation in 1989 of a jointventure, the Information Systemsgroup, whose director, RobertBrentrup, created DCIS. He reportsto both Otto and Levine.

The Information Systems teamdeveloped applications to allowfor the on-line viewing of theLibrary’s card catalog system, aswell as a wide range of informationresources such as encyclopaedias,dictionaries, scholarly journals,and more.

“A library is no longer just a phys-ical location for the active storage ofprinted objects. It’s also a a gatewaywith intelligent guides, a jumping-offpoint into the realm of digital infor-mation,” Levine said. “Increasingly,the library is out there, on yourscreen, on the network.”

So it was only natural that when

plans were floated for a new library,technology needs would emerge as aprimary concern.

“Baker/Berry will remain ahumanities, social-science drivenlibrary, but it will also be an in-formation center for the entirecampus,” Levine said. “The newlibrary is being driven by advancesin technology, which allows peopleto both generate and access tremen-dous quantities of information.”

At the same time, users will con-tinue to need access to all sorts ofinformation, including the kindcontained in books.

“We’re at a historical turningpoint where we don’t know how(these changes) will turn out,” Ottosaid.

“People ask why we need a newlibrary at all, when everything will

eventually be electronic. But that’ssimply not going to happen rightaway. We need to allow for bothstreams, the traditional and thetechnologically supported. One isnot more important than the other.But combining them makes a greatdeal of sense.”

For additional information, see theLibrary Web site:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/

The Computing Services Web site:http://www.dartmouth.edu/comp/

The Information Systems Web site:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/infosys/

The card catalogs in Baker Library carry a reminder that they haven’t been updated in more than six years.


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When the Task Force on the Libraryof the 21st Century released its reportin May 1995, work on the Berry Li-brary was only just beginning.

The baton was then passed fromthe Task Force to the Library Build-ing Committee, chaired by JohnCrane, the Library’s director of ad-ministrative services, and composedof many Task Force veterans. Thatgroup was charged with translatingthe programmatic vision of BerryLibrary into concrete plans.

Design work on the projectcommenced in January 1996, andproceeded in a number of discretephases, Crane said. The object wasto nail down approvals and con-sensus at several points so that prob-lems identified late in the processdidn’t threaten the progress made tothat point.

The first step was program devel-opment, to take the project as out-lined in the task force report andtranslate it into a series of functionalspaces. That concluded in October1996 with the creation of a documentthat listed all program elements forthe combined Berry/Baker projectand their rough space requirements.

That document, called “A Build-ing Program for the Berry and BakerLibraries,” included ideal space re-quirements for a range of libraryelements and services shoehornedinto Baker – acquisition services,circulation and reference staff, newstack space, and preservation serv-ices. It also included space for theAcademic Computing division ofComputing Services, based in Kie-wit, and the offices of the Informa-tion Systems group, currently locat-ed in both Kiewit and Baker. It didnot assign specific locations to anyelement.

Next came the site accommoda-tion phase. Now that the architectshad an idea of what was required ofthe new structure, in terms of spaceand function, it was time to examinebuilding sites to see how Berry mightfit with Baker, and with the rest ofthe campus.

During that phase, which con-cluded in January 1997, the footprintof Berry Library was placed on themaps to the north of Baker, to formthe anchor for the new Berry Row,extending northward to the newpsychology building now underconstruction near Maynard Street.However, that ideal footprint over-lapped the Kiewit building, andwould require the eventual removalnot only of Kiewit, but of Bradleyand Gerry as well.

That triggered new discussionabout where to locate the servicescontained in Kiewit, should Kiewitbe demolished. These services in-cluded the data network headends,the central Machine Room, the staffof Technical Services, and the Com-puting Services headquarters andadministrative support staff, alongwith services such as the printwindow.

That’s where the value of theTask Force report and a segmentedapproach to managing the projectbecame evident, Crane said. Withinthe priorities described by the orig-inal report, it was possible to reachan agreement on what elements ofComputing Services would be in-cluded in the building programwithout derailing all of the workthat had been done up to that point.

“That was a nerve-wrackingtime,” Associate Provost MargaretDyer-Chamberlain said. “The poten-tial removal of the Kiewit building

changed a whole set of assumptionsabout computing. Our Berry plans allworked when Kiewit was next door.Now what?”

The building program, then,was changed in February to includespace for Technical Services and thenetwork headends, ComputingServices headquarters and UserCommunications, as well as thecable television network headendand the video production divisionof Instructional Services.

The schematic design phase camenext. In concert with the architectsfrom Shepley Bulfinch, a series ofworking groups started arrangingdifferent program elements insideboth the existing sections of Baker(to be renovated as part of the proj-ect) and the new Berry space.

The object in this phase was toarrange the known elements withinthe known footprint so that the func-tional adjacencies described in theTask Force report could be fullyrealized. As that aspect came intofocus, Crane said it became alsoeasier to anticipate how users wouldexperience the library as a whole.

That section of the plan concludedin June, and segued right into thedesign development phase that con-tinues right up until the January 1998deadlines for printing this publica-tion. The design development phaseextended the schematic design workinto ever-increasing detail, down tothe placement of individual worksta-tions and pieces of furniture.

At the same time, consultantshave been working on constructionplans and cost estimates with an eyetoward starting construction onBerry this spring, by relocatingutilities buried beneath Elm Street.The process of actually creating the

Careful, Considered Planning

Keeps Berry Process on Track


11

working plans for construction ofBerry Library will extend right upuntil the spring.

When the ground thaws out, thefour-year construction and renova-tion phase begins. Buildings near theBerry work site — Kiewit, Bradley,and Gerry, as well as sections ofBaker — will be structurally rein-forced. Utilities buried under ElmStreet will be relocated, and exca-vation for Berry itself will get underway.

By the fall of this year, work willbe winding down on the RaunerSpecial Collections Library (in theformer Webster Hall). When Raunerbecomes available, a huge amount ofSpecial Collection’s material current-ly contained in Baker can then bemoved out, making available some

much-needed elbow room for thework of connecting Berry and Baker.

The construction proceeds in twophases through the summer of 2001:Phase 1 is the building of BerryLibrary and its connection to Bakervia the 1941 Annex on the north side.That work is scheduled for comple-tion in the summer of 2000, at whichtime some parts of Computing Serv-ices — the network headends andtheir staff from Technical Servicesand Instructional Services — willmove into Berry’s lowest levels.

All other Computing Servicesstaff currently located in Kiewit —in particular, Academic Computing— will move next door to temporaryquarters in Gerry, and Kiewit willthen be demolished.

Phase 2 includes the constructionof the as-yet-unnamed academicwing on the west end of Berry,which will contain offices for theHistory Department, and classroomspace. This phase also includes reno-vations to interior spaces in Baker.When completed in December 2001,library and computing staff will beable to move into all sections ofBerry and into renovated quartersin Baker — at which point, the realwork of realizing Berry’s opportu-nities will begin.

Updates on the Berry/Baker buildingproject are available at:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/BerryBaker/

The central corridor in Baker Library will remain the primary east-west passage at the heart of the campus.


12

For many years, faculty and studentslooking for information, or help find-ing that information, had to acquiresome expert knowledge on theirown.

Need sources for a researchproject? You might go to Baker oranother library or campus for thebooks, or search the Online Libraryor DCIS Navigator. Multimediaresources might be located inNorth Fairbanks Hall, or some-where on the computer networks.

Need to put it all together for acourse that you’re teaching, or tofulfill a class assignment? Referencelibrarians might help with the print-ed or electronic materials. Instruc-tional Services might help with videoand classroom support. CurricularComputing might help with pro-gramming for the Web.

All that begins to change with theadvent of the new library. At theheart of the new library, located atthe geographical center of the cam-pus, is a central place to acquireinformation of all types. If it isn’tstored, retrieved, or manipulated inBerry, someone can tell you whereto go to get the expert help you need.

The resources may vary depend-ing on whether you are faculty orstudent, but the idea is the same: ifyou need information or help inworking with it once you’ve foundit, Berry Library’s Level One is theplace to start.

Services for FacultyThe focus of Level One will be thecentral information desks wherequeries can be triaged to one ofseveral locations: the computingHelp Desk, the reference librarians,or the faculty computing center.

The faculty center will be staffedby the two units of Academic Com-puting devoted to faculty support.Research Computing, formerly UNIXComputing, provides computingsupport for researchers. CurricularComputing provides support fordevelopment of curricular materials,especially Web sites.

The lines between the two groupsare increasingly blurred, AcademicComputing Director Malcolm Brownnotes. Research Computing staffhelps with developing curricularapplications in the sciences, andcurricular applications often run onequipment managed by the researchgroup. “It all depends on where theexpertise lies,” Brown said.

“I think the element to watchwill be the faculty computing cen-ter,” said Brown. “It will be a facilitytailored to the faculty’s needs, withadvanced equipment and supportstaff. Given the importance of tech-nology in the library’s services andproximity of the reference desk,it will be exciting to watch thelibrarian/computarian synergiesgrow over time.”

“The librarians, with all theircontent expertise, have a major roleto play here,” he added.

The center’s emphasis doesn’trest exclusively with fitting out high-end development spaces, althoughthat is part of the plan. During afocus group session with faculty inthe fall, nearly all of the time wasspent talking about support, Brownsaid. “The support we offer to facul-ty, not the equipment, is the mostimportant part of the process.”

In that regard, the computing staffmight learn from the librarians, whohave an excellent reputation for userservice. The skill of a reference librar-ian rests with his or her breadth ofknowledge and ability to understandhow information is organized, saidHumanities and Social SciencesLibrarian Bill Moran. Librarians areconcerned with how scholarship isproduced, organized, and dissemi-nated, Moran said, so it’s only nat-ural that they become familiar withthe new tools.

“When the Task Force began itswork, from the Library’s point ofview, we saw a natural set of mutualinterests,” Moran said. “For example,electronic text — if that’s where theattention of scholars is, then therewill be a convergence with comput-ing experts.”

If faculty are already familiarwith how to obtain services from thereference librarians, it will be easyfor librarians or faculty (or both) tospontaneously interact with the com-puting staff. Both sides are beginningto brace for the expected surge indemand for services.

“It’s not just moving in that willtrigger the demand. The move willallow better integration of technol-ogy with the traditional academic

Faculty, Student Services

Centered on Berry’s Level One

If it isn’t stored,retrieved, or

manipulated inBerry, someone

can tell you whereto go to get theexpert help you

need.


13

needs of faculty,” said JohnHawkins, Academic Computing’sassociate director for curricularcomputing. “Being there on LevelOne will build that in. They can juststep over and consult, or vice versa.”

There isn’t so much of an overlapbetween the roles of technology andreference experts so much as a com-plement, in Hawkins’ opinion —and he’s worked in both Kiewit andBaker. Moran uses the word synergy— “that’s general enough to coverit.”

“We sense that we’ll be workingtogether in many different ways thatwill bring many benefits,” Moransaid.

A recent collaborative effort iscentered on Baker’s Map Room,a repository for thousands of geo-graphic documents. Technology is

changing that field rapidly, as newtypes and formats of digitized infor-mation become available.

The challenge for researchers ishow to access and manipulate thatinformation to best advantage. Re-search Computing is working withthe library staff to better disseminatesome of the raw data available frompublic sources, such as the U.S. Geo-logical Survey or the Census Bureau.

It’s a simple experiment, focusedat its initial stage on simply mak-ing information available, saidGurcharan Khanna, AcademicComputing’s associate directorfor research computing. But it maypave the way for more advancedmethods of manipulating that in-formation, in collaboration withlibrarians and researchers.

“(The librarians) need to be able

to cover the bases on resources. Theresearchers need to be able to dowhatever they want. The UNIXexperts have unique resources tomake this all happen,” Moran said.

The Media CenterPart of what the Curricular Comput-ing team does is prepare content fordigital delivery, for example by digi-tizing video. As part of the Berryproject, Instructional Services’ pro-duction team will move into officesnear the faculty computing center— placing them closer to the hubof curricular service delivery andto content stored on Berry’s LevelTwo.

The Instructional Services mediacollection, made up of thousands ofvideos purchased over the years by

Technology will be an important part of the library experience for future generations of Dartmouth students.



14

Classrooms and instructional spacesin Berry Library are being designedwith the future — and some recentlessons — in mind.

The new classrooms will be cre-ated in a variety of shapes and sizesin both the new library and the at-tached academic wing, as will fourfully-equipped computer instruc-tional centers and a series of refur-bished meeting spaces for libraryand computing staff.

The classrooms vary from smallseminar rooms to larger, 60- and 80-seat classrooms, and from meetingrooms for small groups to sophisti-cated computer labs outfitted withthe latest computers and teachingtechnology.

The level of technology to befound in each room will vary aswell, say project planners, fromfull-blown computer and mediainstallations to rooms that are de-signed to have equipment rolledin and out quickly and easily.

In short, all the new instructionalspaces will help guarantee access byfaculty to well-equipped teachingfacilities. As a result, planners expectto see more faculty begin to incor-porate technology into their lecturesand lesson plans.

“Faculty often wonder why theyshould develop a curriculum thatdepends on complex technology ifthey can’t be sure they’ll be able toget an appropriately-equipped class-room,” said Mark Vogel of Instruc-tional Services. “Having additionalclassrooms in the library supportsthe general classroom mission acrosscampus.”

That general classroom missionis a relatively recent one, havingevolved during the past four yearsof work by a cross-departmental

team known as the Subcommitteeon Classrooms and its ClassroomWorking Group. Instructional Serv-ices Director Mike Beahan, whochairs the Working Group, said thatclassroom modernization hadn’tbeen on anyone’s radar for manyyears because classrooms weren’tthe primary responsibility of anysingle group.

For example, Facilities Operationsand Management was responsiblefor building maintenance, Instruc-tional Services for audio-visualtechnology, and Facilities Planningwith general design and planning.There was no central budget forclassrooms, just as faculty demandfor sophisticated classroom technol-ogies was increasing.

The Subcommittee began withbasic research, touring other schoolsand inviting in experts to help assessDartmouth’s needs and plan for thefuture. Much of the group’s earlywork, including the term “smartclassroom,” was based on modelsdeveloped earlier by Dr. DanNiemeyer of the University ofColorado.

Soon, evaluation of classrooms

began to take on new importance, asfaculty and support staff began torealize the importance of integratingsight lines, chalkboard space (theoriginal interactive display), spacefor projection equipment, and light-ing controls.

“Instead of just tossing up newlights and screens, we now neededto pay attention to two or three dif-ferent mediums, like slides, videoor computer displays, as well as achalkboard,” Vogel said. “Thatrequires other things, like betterlighting or shades on windows.”

To get out of the blocks as quicklyas possible, the Subcommittee fo-cused its efforts on big renovationprojects — installations in largelecture halls at Fairchild, Silsby, andWilder. Technology, such as slideand video projection, computer dis-play projection, and stereo audioplayback were added within thearchitectural constraints of existingspaces.

The latest renovation and upgradeproject, completed this fall in Rocke-feller 1 and 2, was the first to add anintegrated control system for theaudio, visual, and lighting systems,Instructional Services OperationsDirector Andrew Faunce said. Thelevel of retrofitting required to inte-grate the systems, including customwoodworking, concrete demolition,and installation of special air-handling systems, made the Rockyrenovations the most ambitiousclassroom technology project to date.

Along with the new MoorePsychology Building, Berry Libraryis the first new construction projectto add a significant number ofcentrally scheduled classrooms sincethe Subcommittee and WorkingGroup began their work. The project

Classrooms Will Meet Demands

For Instructional Technology

Observers expectto see more

faculty begin toincorporate

technology intotheir lectures and

lesson plans.


15

puts technology in classrooms of dif-ferent sizes, including small seminarrooms, and allows classroom plan-ning to start from scratch, taking intoaccount factors such as room dimen-sions — ceiling height, for example,in order to allow effective placementof lighting and projection screen (orscreens).

Faunce said the sole emphasis oneconomy of scale — maximizing re-turn on investment by emphasizing

After years of mediating overwhelm-ing demand for Kiewit’s lone com-puter instructional center, AcademicComputing Director Malcolm Brownis especially happy to see four in-structional centers included in theBerry program.

“This will solve a huge problemfor us,” Brown said. “This takes usright into the final frontier.”

Academic Computing’s Consult-ing and User Education group hasused the Kiewit Instructional Centerfor years to teach minicourses onhow to use personal computers —everything from system basics toword processing to advanced appli-cations. Its 16 student workstationsand one instructor workstation areequipped with dual Macintosh andWindows 95 machines, projectionequipment, network connections,and blackboards.

However, until recently it’s beenthe only facility of its type on thecampus — and it’s increasingly indemand for a range of other uses.For instance, faculty use the room toteach students how to use special-

ized applications for their courses,Brown said. The center is opennights and weekends for use as anopen cluster for members of theDartmouth community.

The instructional center has beenoversubscribed for years, and Brownhas been leading the charge to findspace for another one. Three yearsafter initiating the hunt, Brown andhis colleagues finally found space foranother instructional center at Build-ing 37 at the far northern edge ofcampus.

While that ought to help satisfydemand for the immediate future,Brown said the Building 37 facilitywill “overflow almost immediately”when coupled with the demand fortraining administrative users on arange of major systems currentlybeing deployed as part of the Stu-dent Information System project.

The Berry Library provides relieffor these problems, with state-of-the-art computer instructional facilitieslocated at the center of the campus.Unlike the Kiewit Instructional Cen-ter, which was shoehorned into the

basement, and the Building 37 Cen-ter, which occupies part of a formercafeteria, the Berry facilities arebeing designed for computer in-struction from the ground up, withcareful attention to sightlines, acous-tics, and lighting.

“The Task Force report describesa technology laboratory where userscan learn how to use these tools,”Brown said. “The instructional cen-ters are a vital part of that plan. Iexpect that, even with these expand-ed facilities, the rooms will be invery high demand.”

Phyllis Jaynes, director of libraryuser services, agrees. “We’ll havereally good instructional centers, andwe’ll do them right, to meet the needfor additional technology training.”

With a total of 98 student work-stations, the Berry centers will “al-low user education on a scale we’venever done before. It will let us lev-erage instructional technology intonew areas, including administrativeareas. This is a huge leap forward,with very few obstacles.”

full media installations only in largeclassrooms and lecture halls — hasgiven way to a matrix concept whichallows for four different levels oftechnology to be installed as part of arenovation or new construction proj-ect. At one end is the “media readyclassrooms” designed for easy setupand breakdown of portable equip-ment, to media-equipped and data/media equipped classrooms, to thefull “smart” installation that now

includes integrated control systemsfor electronics and lighting.

Because the technology levelsmay be applied to classrooms andseminar rooms of any size, over time,all classroom spaces can become“smarter,” Faunce said. “We’re stillattending to the larger (seat yields),but the smaller rooms are gettingmuch more attention, and that’s asignificant change,” he said.

Instructional Centers: From Famine to Feast



16

The trend toward convergence isalready being realized in Comput-ing Services as end user servicesbecome increasingly streamlined,years ahead of any move into BerryLibrary.

Managers of the Help Desk, theRepair Shop, and the ComputerStore started discussing ways toimprove service quality in 1996.Coordination and communicationsamong the three operations wasbecoming more difficult — eachgroup advises users, but is locatedin different areas and reports to dif-ferent leaders in Computing Serv-ices, said Randy Spydell, associatedirector of Academic Computingfor consulting and user education.

Sometimes that advice wasn’tconsistent, and sometimes peoplewere referred to someone in adistant part of Kiewit only to bereferred back to where they came,Spydell said. It became obviousthat these high-traffic contactpoints with the general publicneeded better management.

This fall, the first big change toshorten the loop was implemented:the intake and delivery point for allhardware repairs moved upstairs toan office next to the Help Desk, justinside Kiewit’s front door. Alsomoved upstairs was the Hard DriveClinic and two staff from the RepairShop. No longer do people have tofind their way through the hallsand down the stairs lugging heavyequipment just to receive advicethat might conflict with what theyheard upstairs.

“People love it,” Spydell said.“People tell us how great it is thatthey don’t have to carry their gearso far.”

That experience is leading to othercollaborations and experiments, suchas the “Up and Running” program,which offers software services forbuyers of new computers — settingup the standard Dartmouth softwarepackage, or help transferring thecontents of old hard drives.

Some streamlining of hardwareand software sales is already underway, said Betsy McClain, director offiscal and auxiliary services. Orderssubmitted via e-mail and delivereddirectly to offices on campus nowaccount for more than 30 percent ofall sales, and continued growth inthis direction could allow the Storeand its on-site inventory to be re-duced in size. On-line ordering ofcomputers and printers could becomeas easy as on-line ordering of paperclips.

“It could solve a lot of relatedproblems,” McClain said. The Storeisn’t supposed to offer advice to buy-ers, who are currently directed by the

Store down the hall and around acorner to the CRC to have detailedquestions answered. And withtrends in the personal computerbusiness pointing toward ever-tighter operating margins, any op-tion that offers a way to reduce over-head — and increase value to buyers— needs to be looked at, she said.

So why not include a sales stationin the CRC? That way, as Spydellsays, “buyers can contemplate andcomplete their purchase in the sameplace.” There are still some roughedges to be worked out, McClainsaid, but those are being dealt with,in some cases as part of the planningfor improving user services in BerryLibrary.

For instance, the CRC currentlyfunctions as a de facto student de-velopment lab, with scanners, a fewhigh-powered workstations, andhigh-resolution printers. BerryLibrary plans call for a new studentdevelopment center that can accom-modate those needs, as well as sep-arate space for the CRC, Spydellsaid.

The move toward an integratedCRC/Store function might happenwell in advance of the Berry Libraryopening, McClain said, in order tocorrect customer service issues, aswell as realize efficiencies that mightbring better prices and values tocustomers.

A current example of ‘test driving’proposed service integration beforethe Berry Library opening is themove of the Repair Counter next tothe Help Desk. When the new libraryopens and the service components —such as the Repair Counter — movein, the separation of the Counter and

From Many to Few:

Streamlined Services Are Coming


This fall, the first bigchange to shorten

the loop wasimplemented: the

intake and deliverypoint for all

hardware repairsmoved upstairs to

an office next tothe Help Desk


17

Level One: Berry’s Centralized Focus

Instructional Services, will be assim-ilated into the Jones MultimediaCenter, whose name reflects therapid changes the project has tocontend with.

The original Berry plan includedspace for the microtext center, cur-rently squirreled away in one ofBaker’s basements. That space, firstcalled the Jones Microtext Center,would contain specialized devicesfor accessing content on microfilm,microfiche, and similar formats.

The Library never had the man-date, money, or space to fully devel-op its non-microtext holdings, Moransaid — the duty fell to InstructionalServices, although the Library ac-quired significant pieces as theneed arose.

As Computing Services consid-ered the overall needs of the facultyin light of Kiewit’s impending demo-lition, it seemed natural to move themedia collection (and its staff) to theLibrary — and give the Library con-trol over and access to a new type ofmedia for its collection, Brown said.As the plans developed, the nameof the facility changed to reflect thebroader variety of materials thatwould be located there.

The move reflects the trendtoward bringing information andservices for faculty and students to-gether in one central location, saidDirector of Library User ServicesPhyllis Jaynes: “I think the overallplan will enhance interactions be-tween users and staff. No one willhave to wonder where to go.”

Services for StudentsResources for students are also con-centrated on the first floor. On the

computing side, a new studentdevel-opment laboratory is being createdout of services that were once com-bined in the Computer ResourceCenter (CRC).

The development lab will containequipment for digitizing audio andvideo, such as scanners, as well ashigh-quality color and black-and-white printers that can be used forspecial purposes, such as creatingresumes. The lab will also containseveral high-end workstations.

Those resources are currentlyavailable on a limited basis in theCRC, which is primarily a facility forevaluating hardware and softwarebefore making a purchase. The rela-tionship between the CRC and theComputer Store is currently beingexamined (see related article), butone thing is clear: the CRC needsmore space than it currently has,even if it doesn’t play host to anystudent development functions.

Berry Library addresses thoseconcerns, with space allocated forboth the CRC and for the studentdevelopment lab. The exact specifi-cation for the lab hasn’t been settledyet, but is likely to evolve during thenext four years, said Randy Spydell,Academic Computing’s associatedirector for consulting and usereducation.

Some of the most valuableservices for students aren’t directly

related to computing, Librarian ofthe College Margaret Otto said. The24-hour café and study area on theground floor (outside the perimeterof the library’s core) is intended tobe a gathering point for peopleseeking a respite from the grind.

And there are many placesthroughout Berry and Baker wherestudents can study, as an alternativeto working in the residence halls,Otto said. There will be plenty ofplaces for people to work by them-selves, or in groups — in whateverway they prefer.

“The library isn’t all about tech-nology or books, but it includes lotsof spaces for people to gather andlearn,” she said — no matter howthey choose to do so.

Credit feedback from faculty forthat shift in emphasis toward devel-oping smaller classrooms. In addi-tion, almost all faculty who partici-pated in the focus group sessionsasked for “smart” multimedia pro-jection capabilities, as well as forexpanses of blackboard.

Additionally, many faculty wereinterested in flexible seating arrange-ments that would allow classes toreconfigure as needed for in-classprojects, and the flexibility to includenew technologies, such as videocon-ferencing — all items that can beconsidered as the space is being builtfrom scratch, instead of retrofitted inexisting space.

Continued from page 13


Feedback Key

To Classrooms

No one will haveto wonder where

to go.


18

A number of other divisions of Com-puting Services will also be movinginto Berry and Baker. Several parts ofComputing Services weren’t includ-ed in the plan for Berry Library, andtheir future is still under discussion.

Technical Services moves intospace on the lower level of Berry,along with the campus data andvideo network headends and theMachine Room. The staff of Tech-nical Services provide broad sup-port for the campus informationinfrastructure: the central MachineRoom with its racks of computers,the network machinery, and thetechnicians that maintain theseservices.

Technical Services also includes ateam of programmers whose missionis to help make the networks easy touse. Their accomplishments includeBlitzMail, the ubiquitous e-mail ap-plication for the Macintosh; Fetch, afile transfer utility that is one of themost popular shareware downloadson the Internet; and a range of otherapplications for network administra-tion.

The Information Systems group,a joint venture of the Library andComputing Services, currently hasstaff offices in both Kiewit andBaker. The Berry plans call forconsolidating the team in a singlelocation, in renovated offices on thesecond floor of Baker.

The Computing Services head-quarters will move into renovatedspace in another section of Baker’ssecond floor. The headquarters staffincludes Director of ComputingLarry Levine, who will occupy anoffice that was used by former Dart-mouth President John Kemeny, andthe central business office staff,which provides fiscal and adminis-

trative services to all divisions ofComputing Services.

The User Communications group,which includes the staff that pro-duces this newsletter, will rejoin theheadquarters group in Baker afterseveral years’ absence.

Administrative Computing, theRepair Shop, the Computer Store,and the operations section of In-structional Services will have to behoused elsewhere. The only problemis, there aren’t many options, saidDirector of Computing Larry Levine.

For example, AdministrativeComputing is located in RavenHouse, a former hospital building atthe north end of campus. That build-ing is slated to become space for aca-demic offices at some point in thefuture. And looking further, Ravenwill eventually be demolished toclear a site for a much larger buildingto bookend Moore Hall, the Psychol-ogy Department structure that’s cur-rently under construction next door.

The functions and operations ofthe Shop and Store, currently locatedin Kiewit, are still evolving, Levine

said. That might create some optionsthat would make an eventual moveeasier. For example, Store functionsmight be handled in the ComputerResource Center, which is destinedfor Berry, and some handled on-line,with order fulfillment and otherback-end functions taking place at aremote location.

Berry also includes plans for aRepair Counter, where broken com-puter equipment can be dropped offand picked up. Levine said thatwould create a separate Repair Shopoperating unit that could also bemoved to a location away from cen-tral campus.

With the Instructional Services’video production unit headed forthe library, the Operations division,which handles maintenance andoperation of classroom audio-visualequipment, would be left in NorthFairbanks Hall, along with its head-quarters staff.

The ideal situation for ComputingServices would be to gather all of itsunits into only one other locationbesides the Library, Levine said.North Fairbanks isn’t large enoughto accommodate AdministrativeComputing, or the Shop or Store —and it’s increasingly viewed asprime space that’s close to thecenter of campus.

That leaves Buildings 37 and 50 atthe far northern end of campus —two structures that are occupied byDartmouth-Hitchcock MedicalCenter staff and will need renova-tions after title to them reverts to theCollege sometime after the turn ofthe century. Planning is ongoing todetermine when and if these parts ofComputing Services will move intothese buildings.

Other Computing Divisions:

Where Will They Be Located?

The ideal situationfor Computing

Services would beto gather all of its

units into onlyone other location

besides theLibrary


19

the Shop operations will have beenrigorously tested. This separationprovides a needed flexibility inoptions for relocating the Shopoperations from Kiewit to a lesscentrally located point on campus.

The order fulfillment part of theStore’s operations might also gainsome practice operating apart fromits retail front-end before the newlibrary opens, she said. “Higher edu-cation discounts are under pressure,so why should we deliver the serviceif we can’t deliver real value?”

McClain asks. “The whole notionof reselling needs to be reconsidered.You get a lot of benefits from stan-dardization, for example, but wemight be able to do that in otherways, without a Store counter, andthen cut the overhead as well as theextra stop for the customer.”

The focus on customer servicemotivates much of the discussionfor the design of Berry’s Level One.As computing user services arestreamlined, supporting the needsof an increasingly technologicalreference library will be easier withall relevant services located at one

central point. If people need helplocating an electronic resource, allof the people who can best answerthat question will now be located inthe same building.

“You can do it all in one place,”said Humanities and Social SciencesLibrarian William Moran. “It used tobe that if you had a computer ques-tion, you walked to Kiewit, and ifyou had a books question, you wentto Baker. That’s what’s being ad-dressed with the convergence. Otherschools have mandated the merger.Here, mutual interests are driving theprocess.”

Students studying near the Orozco murals in Baker Library. The murals will be untouched by the construction.

User Services Converging Before the MoveContinued from page 16


20

John Crane, the chair of the LibraryBuilding Committee, was a studentat Dartmouth when the Kiewit Com-putation Center first opened in 1966.

In the middle of Kiewit’s vast,unoccupied, and empty basementstood a lone PDP11 workstation,connected with a thick cable to adevice in the Machine Room up-stairs.

“It was really quite awesome,”Crane said — and that was the wayeveryone thought of the building.Enabled by a $500,000 gift fromPeter Kiewit ’22, and designed bythe renowned modernist architec-tural firm of Skidmore, Owings andMerrill, the Kiewit building was amarvel that embodied the future.

Only one problem: the future ofcomputing changed radically duringthe next 31 years. No one could haveforeseen the scale of the shift fromcentral to distributed computing,and the concurrent surge in demandfor user services.

Despite valiant attempts to mod-ify the building to address thoseneeds, Kiewit was slated for demoli-tion last year. The leaders of theBerry Library project have much tolearn from the Kiewit experience.

“For me, it’s the scariest part ofbuilding this library, because thecrystal ball remains cloudy,” Cranesaid. “We can’t foresee what changeswill be coming in the next 20 or 100years.”

The Task Force could anticipatethat user needs would change andevolve. That’s why flexibility be-came an important factor in BerryLibrary’s design — an open floorplan would be able to handle nearlyany eventuality in terms of changesin technology or staff organization.

By contrast, there were no models

available when Kiewit was con-ceived. The architects knew theyhad to make arrangements to housea central computer with dimensionsbest measured with a yardstick.Computers required vast amountsof electricity and thick sheaves ofcabling stuffed into special raisedfloors.

Kiewit’s centerpiece, a GE-235“medium-range computer,” wassmart enough to allow “virtuallysimultaneous use” by the two dozeninput-output stations used to punchin requests. It needed a special

climate-controlled room, and thedesigners placed that room in themiddle of the building, surroundedby offices for faculty and graduatestudents, a reference library, andlounges.

However, that design did notallow for much modification. Thebasic problem was the centralMachine Room — its walls definedand limited the functionality of thebuilding’s interior spaces. So long asthere was only a single computerand associated devices in the build-ing, the design worked well.

Looking Back at Kiewit:

Building for an Uncertain Future

The Kiewit Computation Center under construction, 1965. (Archive photo)


21

But technology was changingrapidly. The rise of the network andthe distribution of computing powerto user desktops brought a surge indemand for services that eclipsedthe emphasis on central computers.The clear need was for more staffoffices — and Kiewit had troubleadapting.

Spaces once allocated at referencelibraries and lounges became officesand public computer clusters. Thebasement became offices for theAdministrative Computing Group,until they outgrew that space andended up, eventually, in RavenHouse. Programmers working forTechnical Services have doubled upin basement offices, and the RepairShop operation was worked onrecently to meet OSHA workplace

safety requirements — all usesunanticipated in the original design.

Even the core Machine Room isbeing sacrificed to make room forstaff offices, although it’s gettingtricky working around the require-ments of the air conditioning system.

Berry Library places people at itscenter, instead of a Machine Room(which will be located in the build-ing’s lower level), and is being de-signed with options that will allowany configuration of books or tech-nology in almost any location. Thehope, Crane said, “is to create astructure for our successors that isstill valuable and functional manyyears down the road, no matterwhat sorts of changes are in store.”

By all indications, that challengehas been well met.

Visitors on a tour of the Kiewit Terminal Room in 1968. That space is now occupied by the public cluster and CRC.

Professors Thomas Kurtz and JohnKemeny, 1964. (Archive photos)


22

during the design phase of theproject.

The result: “We can zone thebuilding by professionals and func-tion rather than by organizationaldivision,” Wedge said. Dartmouth isunique in “pushing to get off theidentity dime,” and that ultimatelybenefits the users, she said. “The userservices experts have been talking toeach other for the last year. There’s areal professional collaboration there,and people begin thinking you cango one step better,” and that willcontinue to evolve.

For students or faculty seekingsupport in accessing or generatinginformation, that means not worry-ing about what group may be able tohelp with one task, and then going toanother building for help with an-other task. All information resourcesare increasingly available in one cen-tral location, Wedge said.

The integration of libraries andcomputing is still a relatively newphenomenon. “We know the direc-tion that learning and the use of in-formation technology is moving in.What we haven’t seen are the realadvantages of pulling it all togetherto the extent that it’s being donehere,” Freeman said. “That’s whatultimately distinguishes this project.The conversation is clearly now onthe benefits of moving in together,and therefore describing that activityand helping it to evolve. It’s anenormous step forward.”

“The fun part in the building isthat we really don’t know what theresult will be — we can anticipatethe impact but we’re not going toreally know how great it’s going tobe in terms of the service provideduntil it actually happens,” Freemansaid.

But one trend is clear: earlier,modest experiments in library andtechnology integration have sparked

tremendous demand for new serv-ices. The huge popularity of USC’sLeavey Library, for example, is nowevidence that the school ought to gofurther in creating more of thosekinds of spaces, Wedge said.

Emory University’s new librarytook that integration concept a stepfurther by adding a larger comput-ing component, Freeman said, butthe integration of library and com-puting staffs didn’t go as far as itcould.

Berry Library is the latest projectin that continuum, and takes theintegration concept to yet anotherlevel by placing even more emphasison service and combining staffs withsimilar missions. “USC didn’t bringall (of the computing experts in).Emory did bring them in, but didn’tcombine the staffs as much. But Dart-mouth is putting (both computingand library staff) out front, and thatwill create a new identity over timewith user focus.”


Berry Continues Trends in Library Design

Students at work in Baker Library. Late-night study spaces are a part of the Berry Library plan.


23

Apple Macintosh personal com-puters dominate Dartmouth’scomputing environment. Supportfor Windows 95 computers is in-creasing. UNIX systems are alsorepresented. If you’re thinkingabout buying a new computer orsoftware, this column outlinesminimum recommendations forpeople buying new hardware andsoftware.

Mac OS Hardware:• Desktop System: Apple PowerMacG3/233 32/4.0* CD• Laptop System: Apple PowerBook1400cs/166 32/1.3* CD*Indicates RAM in megabytes andhard-disk space in gigabytes. RAMcan be upgraded in either system asnecessary. Please contact the Com-puter Resource Center for moreinformation.

Mac OS Supported

Software:• Word processing: Microsoft Word,WordPerfect• Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel• Database manager: Claris FileMakerPro• Statistical analysis: Microsoft Excel,SYSTAT• Basic graphics: ClarisWorks• WWW authoring: Claris Home Page,BBEdit• Electronic mail: BlitzMail• Dial-up software: LinkUPPP!, AppleRemote Access, MacPPP (MacintoshSystem 6 users only)• DCIS access tools: DCIS Navigator,Online Library, Netscape Navigator• Internet tools: InterNews, Fetch,Netscape Navigator• Terminal emulation: NCSA Telnet,DarTerminal

Windows 95 Hardware:• Desktop System: Dell OptiPlex5200/GsMN MMX 32/2.0* CD• Laptop System: Dell Inspiron 3000M166ST 32/2.1* CD*Indicates RAM in megabytes andhard-disk space in gigabytes. RAMcan be upgraded in either system asnecessary. Other configurations areavailable. Please contact the Com-puter Resource Center for moreinformation.

Software for Windows 95

(Limited Support):• Operating system: MicrosoftWindows 95• Word processing: Microsoft Word• Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel• Database manager: Claris FileMakerPro• Statistical analysis: Microsoft Excel• Electronic mail: BlitzMail• Dial-up software: Win95 PPP• DCIS access tool: NetscapeNavigator• Internet tools: Netscape Navigator,Rapid Filer• Terminal emulation: Host Presenter

UNIX Systems:Our public UNIX machines run SGI’sIRIX and IBM’s AIX. We providelimited support on other versionsof UNIX, including Linux. We alsohave software site licensing plans forSGI, IBM, and DEC which includethe OS, compilers, and applications.Note: All software not available onall systems; some may require a fee.Contact Gurcharan Khanna at 646-1644 for more information.

Selected UNIX Software

(Limited Support):• Graphics: Data Explorer• Mathematics: Matlab, Maple,Mathematica, IMSL• Statistics: SAS, SPSS• Compilers: Java, C, C++, F77, F90• Word processing: TeX/LaTeX,FrameMaker• Image processing: Photoshop, IPW,pbmplus• WWW authoring: CosmoCreate,CosmoCode, CosmoWorlds

What to Buy: Recommended

Personal Computer Systems

Computing Services’ “Up and Run-ning” program is designed to helppeople to begin using new comput-ers and software as quickly and aseasily as possible. This service, forboth Macintosh OS and Dell Win-dows 95 computers, is available fora fee.

Up and Running services include:Installing the standard (core) Dart-mouth software; installing updatesto the operating system software;installing new or updated versions ofstandard productivity applications,such as Microsoft Word; physicallysetting up your computer in youroffice; and transferring files from anold computer to a new one.

This service is available for newmachines purchased at the Com-puter Store, and to owners of olderequipment.

To find out more about the Upand Running program, contact theComputer Store or send e-mailto up-and-running ([email protected]).

Up and Running Service

Is Now Available

InterfaceComputing ServicesDartmouth College6028 Kiewit Computation CenterHanover, New Hampshire 03755-3523

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit Number 3

Hanover, NH 03755

Computing Services

Help Desk: 646-29999 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdaysComputer Resource Center:

646-26269 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays

Computer Store: 646-32499 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays

Repair Counter & Hard Drive Clinic:646-31299 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays

Business Office: 646-26438 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays

Academic Computing: 646-13498:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays

Administrative Computing:646-36018 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdaysLocated in Raven House

Instructional Services: 646-22168 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdaysLocated in North Fairbanks Hall

Machine Room: 646-2075Staffed 24 hours a day, every day

Research Computing: 646-16448:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays

On-line Directory: A directory ofComputing Services’ staff and areas of expertise is available in twoplaces: (1) on the World Wide Web athttp://www.dartmouth.edu/comp/

directory.html; and (2) in the on-line archives of Interface, accessiblevia the Dartmouth College Informa-tion System. Use the DCIS Navigatorprogram to locate Interface in thecategory of “Computing Services.”Double-click on the icon for Interface.The Navigator will launch OnlineLibrary, the viewer program for thearchives. Choose Title from theIndex menu, and search for “help.”

Network Access

Modem Speed Number

• Up to 14,400 bps (603) 643-6300• 19,200 bps or higher (603) 643-0102

Where to Get Computing Help

Other Computing

Resources

Computer Graphic Services:650-1495

DHMC Computer Services:650-2222

DMS Computing: 650-1394Geography Dept. Rahr Lab:

646-3378Humanities Computing: 646-2716Language Resource Center:

646-2716Library Computing Services:

646-3389Mathematics/Computer Science:

646-2768 (Director of Computing)Social Science Computing:

646-3947Telephone Services: 646-2300Thayer School Computing:

646-2807Tuck School Computing:

646-1818

Documents

INTERFACE - Dartmouth Collegecollab/institutions/dartmouth/winter98.pdfInterface is available on the World Wide Web at: ... traffic on the smaller link, bringing a boost in performance