Putting a cork in its past, Library West reopened Monday after being closed during the summer intersession for a mini-makeover.
Due to damages around the escalators and elevators on its first, second and third floors, Library West's cork flooring was replaced last week with a new material consisting of recycled marble and granite chips.
Despite being installed as part of the library's massive 2006 renovation, the floor tiles started peeling along the seams as early as 2007.
"The further we went, the less it looked like it was going to hold up in the long haul," said Bill Covey, interim director for UF library support services.
The new floor was chosen to match the library's organic appearance while being reasonably quiet to walk on, Covey said.
The new look closely resembles the mustard tone of the original.
The specific reason for the flooring's failure remains a mystery.
Lab tests determined that there was no chemical culprit, he said.
The unexpectedly high amount of foot traffic in Library West is thought to be the major cause of the floor's abrupt decline, said Bahar Armaghani, the project manager for the Library West renovation.
The maintenance and cleaning of the floors contributed to the peeling problem as well, Armaghani said.
Replacing the floors came with a $43,000 price tag, she said.
In addition, the circulation desk at Library West received a facelift during last week's closure.
The first of three new SelfCheck checkout machines appeared at the circulation desk on Monday as part of a pilot project.
The new system will allow people to check out books and bound periodicals for themselves simply by scanning their Gator 1 Cards.
Aside from providing students with shorter lines at the circulation desk, the SelfCheck machine will also give them more privacy, said Angela Mott, academic support services coordinator at Library West.
Eventually, Library West will house two devices, and Marston Science Library will have one.
Janie Fouke, who will leave her position as provost today to work at UF's International Center for a year, is funding the project as a service to the university.
Plans to clean the escalators will be postponed until the next intersession after summer B.
