Ariana Burga used to study at table by a window on the third-floor of Marston Science Library almost every day — including weekends — to study for organic chemistry I, biology and calculus II.
The third floor has always been the 20-year-old’s favorite because it’s high enough to have a nice view and is quiet enough to focus.
But on March 4, the floor was partially closed for renovations as furniture was replaced and outlets added. The UF biochemistry and neuroscience sophomore has had to study in Library West. She’ll be relieved for the floor to open Tuesday so she wouldn’t have to fight for spots during finals.
“It is very important that they implemented more tables and more seats for us because it’s going to be impossible to find those in a couple weeks,” Burga said.
Valrie Minson, chair of Marston Science Library, said the project started during Winter Break and students could still use the floor during the first half of renovations. It was scheduled to finish early Spring, but electricians ran into delays. It cost about $476,000 for the renovations, which covered electrical improvements, furniture, installation and painting.
“The floor beams weren’t where they were supposed to be, so we had to do full x-rays of the floor to find them and work around them,” Minson said.
The third floor is the in-between of the silent fifth floor and the loud basement, so the new furniture will reflect the need for both group work and solo study, Minson said.
Tables with glass dividers, similar to those found on the entry floor, located on the south side, will allow students the choice between group and individual work. The updated floor will also have an elevated “Genius bar” table, Minson said.
The old six-person tables will be replaced by larger 14-person, guitar pick-shaped tables, Minson said.
“People working on group projects and club members used to take the small tables and push them together to make one massive table,” she said.
Minson said the first floor, known colloquially as the basement, received the first set of improvements in 2014, when study rooms and computers were added as part of a $5.7 million first-floor renovation project. Before then, it had not been updated since the library’s opening in 1987.
This renovation saw the introduction of group study rooms and the Made@UF room, which provides resources for students to learn how to develop apps.
“As soon as we did that, use of the first floor shot right up without hurting occupancy at other libraries, so we knew we were filling an unmet need,” Minson said.
The entry level was next on the list and received its makeover shortly afterward. Since the first remodeling, she said, the plan has been to move up the building.
The third floor, the last of the group study areas, made the most sense to proceed with, Minson said. The fourth and fifth floors will be more difficult to accomplish without disrupting students, but those renovations will be on the agenda soon.
A student studies with friends in Marston Science Library in January 2014.
