Changing with the Times

Link to September 6, front-page Wisconsin State Journal article, "Changes at UW libraries: Fewer books, more fraternization".

Excerpt:

Where once there were stacks of books at UW-Madison's College Library, now there are big tables, littered with laptops and pizza boxes.

In the place of journals, there is a coffee house and cafe. And windows that were blocked by bookshelves now reveal an expansive view of Lake Mendota's blue water.

This is the changing face of College Library, housed within Helen C. White Hall.

Some of the specifics:
1. 30,000 fewer volumes in collection.
2. Visits per year: 1.2 million
3. 100 paper newspapers and magazines (down from 1,000)
4. Reference collection cut by two-thirds
5. More room for study and gathering places
6. 500 new outlets for laptops and other devices