Library West is the major library of the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries system. Its collections consist of material on the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, as well as

African studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

and

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

resources. The Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica special collection on

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

is also part of the collection. Librarians specializing in these fields are available to help students and faculty with their research. Library West primarily serves the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Journalism and Communications, and the

Warrington College of Business Administration The Warrington College of Business is the business school of the University of Florida. About 6,300 students are enrolled in classes, including undergraduates and graduate students, including Master of Business Administration and Ph.D.-seeking st ...

. It is the largest of the seven Smathers Libraries at UF. The other major library is the Marston Science Library, which holds collections on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, and the

natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

and

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

s. The library is located at the north end of the Plaza of the Americas, at the Campus Historic District in the northeastern part of campus. The library is colloquially referred to as "Lib West" or "Club West" by some students.

History

Library West was first constructed in 1967 and was originally designated as the "Graduate Research Library." Library East (now Smathers Library) was at the same time designated as the undergraduate library. However, in the following decades the two buildings' collections were integrated together and Library West became established as the social sciences and humanities library on campus. Prompted by a need for more space for materials, Library West was closed for a $30 million renovation in December 2003 that doubled its capacity, improved its

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

capabilities, and added a

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

to the lobby. The library reopened in August 2006, and the renovations earned the library gold

LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

, making Library West the second UF building to obtain that status (the first was Rinker Hall, which houses the

Rinker School of Building Construction The M. E. Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida prepares graduates for careers in the construction industry. As part of the university's College of Design, Construction, and Planning, the school's name was offi ...

Services

The library can seat up to 1,400 patrons. It is equipped with eighteen group study rooms, available for checkout from the circulation desk, as well as eight study booths with computers and four booths equipped for viewing videos. Thirty

iPad 3 The iPad (3rd generation) (marketed as the new iPad, colloquially referred to as the iPad 3) is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the third device in the iPad line of tablets. It added a Retina Display, the new Ap ...

devices are available for checkout at the circulation desk. Four digital

microfilm A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...

readers are also available for public use, in addition to a significant number of computers and printers. There are numerous carrels and study facilities located on the top floors for

graduate students Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

, and the top two floors of the library are designated for quiet study only. The library has fluctuated between being open 24/7 and closing at 11PM EST. In 2018, the UF Student Government approved the library to be open 24/7, but since the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the library closes at night.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1967 establishments in Florida Buildings at the University of Florida Libraries in Florida Library buildings completed in 1967

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

History

Services

See also

References

External links