Iowa City Press Citizen News Release—January 22 , 2009

UI relocates largest music library in the state

Brian Morelli
Iowa City Press-Citizen

University of Iowa graduate student Dan Hientz ended his winter break a little early to help relocate the largest music library in the state.

The daunting task included placing little green stickers on each of the 180,000 volumes in the Rita Benton Music Library collection to distinguish the material from the rest of the items in its new home -- UI's Main Library.

"You can't let yourself get distracted," Hientz said about his strategy. "You can't start looking through the books."

The collection had been sitting in the dark in the Voxman Music Building since last June when floodwaters closed Voxman.

During winter break, UI packed up all the books, records, CDs and other items and shipped them to the second and fifth floors of the Main Library to have a new home ready for the start of the spring semester.

"Because of the flood, we had to move, and because we don't know where we are going to end up, we carved a space out in the library," music librarian Ruthann McTyre said.

The main library will serve as a long-term temporary home for the Rita Benton library until a permanent facility for the music school is identified.

The collection wasn't entirely dormant during the fall semester. Library staff traveled once daily to Voxman, often with the aid of headlamps or lanterns, to retrieve requests for students and professors, McTyre said.

The collection sustained little or no damage, McTyre said. Fans forced hot air into the building to keep material dry. If anything, it dried out materials too much, she said, but there were no losses.

Staff retrieving material on some days faced 125 degree temperatures at Voxman, she said.

Circulation rates were actually above average during this period, McTyre said. Many patrons over-projected what they needed since they couldn't just pop in whenever they wanted to, she said. On some days, staff had to locate 200 items.

The library primarily serves the 450 students and 60 faculty in the School of Music.

The new space once again will allow patrons to browse the shelves.

One of the motives for relocating the collection was its importance to a required introductory course called Intro to Graduate Studies. The school was not able to offer students the course in the fall because the library was off limits. This semester, two sections of the course are being offered.

McTyre said that, for now, it is a pretty good temporary solution, especially with the library located in the heart of campus. However, she said she eventually hopes to reconnect with the music school under one roof.

"What will be interesting is holding onto our identity now that we are not in a separate building," McTyre said.

The addition to the Main Library puts a further strain on study space in the facility, Kristi Bontrager, public relations coordinator for UI Libraries said. Collections are creeping into what once had been open expanses for students to study. However, the primary function of the library is to provide materials.

"We are really hoping the music students feel like they can settle here," Bontrager said.
--

Source: Iowa City Press Citizen
http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20090122/NEWS01/901220323/1079/news01