Don't relocate. Communicate.
That's the slogan about 100 UF students chanted as they marched from the steps of Fine Arts Building A to Tigert Hall to show their support for the Architecture & Fine Arts Library, which may be converted to studio space for fine arts students.
Students carried signs with "cooperate," "communicate," "collaborate" and "save the AFA library" printed in capital block letters.
The rally culminated on the steps of Tigert Hall, where Adam Mahardy, 22, a senior architecture student who organized the proactive rally, handed UF Provost Joe Glover a petition with 60 pages of signatures in support of the library.
Glover did not address the students.
The College of Fine Arts needs more studio space for its students to maintain its accreditation, and a proposed solution is moving the collections from their current location to Library West.
Lucinda Lavelli, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said she wants to put students' minds to rest about the issue.
"The libraries are absolutely not closing," she said. "We are simply addressing space issues. They would never close without a lot of talking."
Rumors of proposed closures of the library began to swirl at the beginning of the semester after Glover suggested the Architecture & Fine Arts Library and the Music Library transfer some of their collections to Library West to create more space for classrooms, studios and practice rooms.
The Architecture & Fine Arts Library serves an estimated 85,000 people annually.
Lavelli said Christopher Silver, dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning, has volunteered his college to analyze the libraries and develop plans to optimize their use of space.
Some portions of the libraries' collections may still be moved to Library West in order to make room for needed creative and classroom spaces, she said.
There has not been a final decision about the libraries' fate.
The colleges are scheduling meetings later in the month to try to lay out specific goals as well as a timeline.
"These libraries are well-used, well-loved areas," she said. "Students and faculty will definitely be involved in any decisions."
If the university goes through with the proposed relocation, it is unlikely that all of the books will fit in Library West. Some volumes would be archived off campus, Mahardy said.
It takes 24 hours to access archived books.
"The library is crucial to serendipitous browsing," said Cynthia Peterson, the architecture archives curator in the department of special collections and area studies in Smathers Library.
On Wednesday, Mahardy will meet with Glover to express his desire for an alternative solution. If Glover proceeds with the plan to close the library, Mahardy will organize another rally.
Questions about the efficiency of space usage within the college have prompted additional discussions geared toward modernizing the entire college, Lavelli said.
"This little question about library use has prompted so many larger questions," she said. "Things like, ‘What does the future hold?' and ‘What can we do better?'"
