ACCESSIBILITYOFCENTENNIALLIBRARY

ForEnglish219001
CassyMcClintock

TABLEOFCONTENTS

TableofContents....Page2

Abstract.......Page2
Introduction.....Page3

Methodology....Page46
CostChart....Page78

Results.Page68
DiscussionofResults..Page9

Recommendations.....Page10
WorksCited..Page11

ABSTRACT
InthefollowingpagesofthisreportitwillbediscussedonhowTheUniversityof
NewMexicocanreachouttothestudentpopulationtotellthemthattheycareabouttheir
education.TheCentennialLibraryisafantasticplacetogostudybuttheUniversal
designofthisbuildingislackingthekeycomponenttomakeallstudentsfeelthewarmth
theyneedduringstressfultimesintheirlives.TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofLabor
definesUniversalDesignas,astrategyformakingproducts,environments,operational
systems,andserviceswelcomingandusabletothemostdiverserangeofpeoplepossible.
Itskeyprinciplesaresimplicity,flexibilityandefficiency.

INTRODUCTION
CentennialLibraryisusedbydozensofstudentsandfacultymembersdaily.
Thereareclassesheldinthisbuilding,astateoftheartscienceandengineeringresearch
library,acomputerpodwithoverfiftycomputers,andevenasnackstand.Thislibraryis
akeysourceinstudentsoverallsuccessintheirdesiredfieldofstudy.Whathasyettobe
mentionedisthedesignofthislibrary.
Centennialisanarchitecturalmarvelbecausetheentireplaceislocated
underground.Whichmayseemfineanddandyuntilyouseethedesignflawforthis
particularlibrary.Fordisabledindividualswhocannotusethestairsormaybevisually
impaired,theelevatorishiddenbehindacornerandhardtofindunlessyouknowwhere
togo.Notonlythatbutthestepsofthestairsmakeitchallengingtowalkdown,evenfor
individualscapableofdoingso.Therearemanywaystoachieveimprovementinthis
area.First,therecouldbesignsonthewallstodirectstudentsinwheelchairswheretogo,
installationofabiggerelevatortoaccommodatemorepeople,linesonthefloorthatcan
guidethevisuallyimpairedtodifferentareasthatwillgivethemtheaccesstheyneed,or
evenarenovationofthestairstomakethestepseasiertowalkon.Butultimatelyinthe
endthebestwaytosolvethisproblemwouldbeanexpansionoftheexteriortomakethe
entranceintothebuildingseemmorefriendlyandwelcoming.Thiswouldmakepeople
realizethatthisistheentranceintothelibrarythattheycannotsee,andmakeitlooklike
morethanjustaninformationalbuildingfilledwithbrochuresofthesurroundingarea.

Thisreportcontainsfoursections:1Methodology,2Results,3Discussionofthe
Resultsand4Conclusionandrecommendation.Allofthesehavebeenthoroughly
researchedandplannedoutforbestoverallresults

METHODOLOGY
Basedonthemassquantityofpeoplewhousethislibraryforteachingtime,
studying,readingandsocializing,thereneedstobeawaytoreachouttothepopulation
ofstudentswhowanttousethislibrarybutcant.Thiswillhelpincreasetheamountof
studentsthatcanaccessthislibraryonadailybasis.Inthefollowingsectionstheplanof
thisreportwillbewalkedoutstepbystep.
Phase1:Interviewingstudentsabouthowtheyfeel
Phase2:Identifyinghowtherenovationwillaffectstudentslearning
Phase3:Gatheringinformationofremodelcostsandtimelimits

Phase1:InterviewingStudentsaboutHowTheyFeel
Thestudentsaretheoneswhobenefitthemostfromthislibrary;allthe
knowledgethatcancomefromthisinstitutionisamarvelousthing.Sothefirststepto
thiswholeprocessistofindouthowthestudentsfeelaboutthislibraryandthe
accessibilityitprovidesforthewholestudentpopulation.Givingasurveytoallthe
studentswhogotoTheUniversityofNewMexico,viaemailandhandingouttostudents
inthelibrary,askingthemthesamebasicquestionscanprovidetheinformationneeded
torenovate.Someofthegeneralquestionsthatwillbeaskedduringthisprocesswill
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include:Whatyearofschoolareyou?Whatsyourdesiredmajor?Doyouspendalotof
timeinthelibrariesaroundcampus?DoyouoftenstudyinCentennialLibrary?How
oftendoyougotoCentennialLibrary,whattimesoftheday?Thefirsttimeyoupassed
byCentennialdidyouknowwhatbuildingitwas?DoyoufindCentennialLibrary
Confusingtoaccess?Andfinally,whatwouldyoudotohelpfixtheaccessibilityinto
CentennialLibrary?Aftereachofthesesimplequestionswillbeacouplelinesforthe
studentstoleaveacommentonhowtheyfeelabouttheLibrary.Thiswillprovidethe
schoolwithalotofinformationonhowthestudentsreacttothislibraryandthe
environmentthatitprovides.
Phase2:IdentifyinghowtheRenovationwillAffectStudentsLearning
TheLibraryisakeynecessitytotheeverydaylifeofastudentandbyrefacing
theoutsideofthebuildingcaninterfereimmenselywiththesuccessofthestudents.The
surveythatwasmentionedabovethatwillbegivenouttostudentscanbeagreatwayto
seehowoftenthestudentscometolibraryandwhen.Itwilllettheschoolknowthemore
primetimetostarttheremodel,sothattheleastamountofstudentsarebeingbothered.
Therearesomeoptionstoavoidtheliabilitiesofhurtingstudents,notonlyphysicallybut
alsomentally.Theremodelcouldhappenduringthesummer/wintermonthswhenclasses
arenotheld,theremodelcouldhappenonlyatnightwhenstudentsarenotoncampus
andpauseduringthedaystillallowingaccesstothelibrary,oreventheycanremodel
halfthebuildingatatimeallowingstudentswhodesperatelyneedtogetintothebuilding
partialaccess.

ThereareotheroptionsaswellthatstudentscanaccessonlinethroughtheLibrary
website.Thedatabasesonlinecontainhundredsofbooksthatstudentscanaccessat
anytime,orcanevenaccessindifferentlibrariesaroundcampus.Thesedatabasesare
usedbytypinginkeywordsbasedonwhattheyarelookingfor,andafteritwillpullup
anybookthathasthatkeywordinthere.
Phase3:GatheringInformationofRemodelCostsandTimeLimits
Thecosttoaddanexpansionontotheexistinglibrarycanvarywidelybasedon
thetypeofmaterialthatthebuildersandwhattheuniversitywillallocatetothis.
AccordingtoFixr,thelocalaverageadditioncostpersquarefootisrunningupto$124
persquarefoot.Thisisnottheonlypricethatisnecessarywhenitcomestoaremodel,
butitisahugefactorwheninitiallyplanningoutcosts.Therearealotofotherlittle
pricesthatfactorintothisprocessaswellthatyoucanreadmoreabouttheminthe
resultssection.

RESULTS

ThestudentswillbenefitgreatlybyanyimprovementthatTheUniversityofNew
Mexicomakestothelibrary.Thelibraryisawellrespectedplacetogostudyandbe
immersedinknowledge,butitsnotfairtothestudentbodywhennoteveryonecan
experiencesuchanamazingfeatureattheUniversityofNewMexico.

Therearealotofnecessaryresearchstepsthatgointoaprojectofthismagnitude
beforebeginningtheinitialremodelingprocesses.Theseinclude;thesurveyofthe
studentsthatattendtheUniversityandhowtheyfeelabouttheLibrary.Thefeedbackthat
thestudentsprovidewillbeahugehelpinallocatingfundsforthisprojectaswell.Then,
thenextstepistoresearchandcrunchallthepricesthatwillbeneeded,findallthe
hiddenfeessotherewillbenosurprisesduringtheprocess.Andfinally,thebiggest
conflictistofindthebesttimetobeginconstructionsotheleastamountofpeoplewillbe
takenoftheirstudies.

Nearly80%ofthestudentssurveyeddidntevenknowwherecentenniallibrary
wasatfirst.Nearly80%ofthestudentshadtoaskfordirectionstoCentennialLibrary
andwerestandingrightnexttothebuilding.Nearly80%ofthestudentsdontspendalot
oftimeintheCentennialLibrarybecausetheyfeeltheaccessintothebuildingistoo
difficult.Hearingresultslikethisfromsurveyedstudentsdoesntgivetheschooloreven
thestudentsthenecessaryconfidencethattheywanttohaveinalibrary.Theschool
wantsthestudentstohaveaplacetogostudyandspendtimein.

Afterreadingthatthestudentsdontgotothislibrarybecauseoflittlethingslike
accessanddirection,itsanincentiveinitselftoprovidethestudentswiththehelpthey
need.Thisentailstheprocessofresearchingallthenecessarycoststhatgointoaproject
ofthissize.BylookingontheInternetandcomparingdifferentcontractorandcarpenters,
thelistbelowaveragesoutthebestpricesofallthenecessaryFees.

Thislistmakesitseemslikeallofthesehiddenfeesmakethepriceskyrocketup.
Butintheendarenovationofthissize,onanalreadyexistingbuildingonaUniversity
campusisonlyupwardsof$20,000.

Withallofthisnewdataaboutconstructioncostsandrenovations,thenextstepis
tofindoutthebesttimetomakethelibraryabetterplaceforthestudentstocomework
at.Thedatathatcamefromthestudentsurveyswilltelltheschoolwhentheprimetime
thestudentscometothelibraryatandthereforecomeupwithasolutionthatwillbenefit
thegreatestamountofstudents.

HiddenFees

AveragePrice

Carpenters

$70perhour

Electricians

$60$80perhour

ArchitecturalDesignServices

1020%ofbuildingbudget

DemolitionEvacuationServices

$100$500(dependentonamountofexcess
material)

Concretefootingsandslab

$75percubicyard

Triminstallation

$7persquarefoot

Fiberglassinstallation

$2persquarefoot

Windows

$200$700basedonsize

Carpeting

$20persquareyard

Drywallinstallation

$10perpanel

Lumber

Varyonwhichtype

Lights

$10perbulb

Othersmallnecessities

$500dependingonthequantity

Moldings

$3perfoot

DISCUSSIONOFRESULTS

SomewaysthattheUniversityofNewMexicocanstarttoimprovetheoverall
designandfunctionalitytoaccommodatethemostdiverseandultimateamountofpeople
istofixacoupleoftheuniversaldesignissuestheyhave.Forstarterstheycanputupa
couplesignsinthebuildingthatwouldhelpthestudentsonwhichdirectiontogo.These
signscanhavenotonlybigboldfont,butbrailforthosevisuallyimpaired.Thesignscan
beastartingpointtoseehowtheycanaffectthestudentsandacheapwaytomakethe
accessintothelibraryawelcominghello.

Thelibrarycoulduseabiggersigntellingthestudentswhatthissmallbuilding
surroundedbywindowsisusedfor.Thestickylettersonthewindow,notbeingabletobe
seenfromalldirections,ismisleadingforthestudentswhoarenewandhavenoideaof
wheretogo.Moststudentsaroundaskpeoplehowtoaccessthislibrarybecausetheyin
factdontknowthatthelibraryislocatedunderground.

Alsosomeothermorecostlyrenovationsthatwouldhelpthestudentsoutwould
beawideningofthestairstohelpthepeoplewhousethemallthetime,haveabetter
easeofgoingupanddownthem.Thesmallstepscancauseinjurywithhowcarefulthe
averagepersonhastobewhenwalkingdownthem.Theothermorecostly,mosthelpful
wouldbeanadditiontotheexteriorentrancetothebuilding,whichwillbetalkedabout
moreinthediscussionofresults.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Inordertoincreasethestudentsabilitytolearnandaccommodatethosewhohave
adisability,whetherthatmaybeahearingorsightimpairmenttobeinginawheelchair,
theUniversityneedstorealizethatexpandingthelibraryisasmallcostfortheattention
thatitwillreceive.TheUniversitywillnotonlygaintherecognitionfromnewsstands
andthepublicaround,butfromnewincomingstudentsthatfeeltheuniversityistaking
thenecessaryprecautionstoprovidefortheeverydaylivesofstudentsallaround.The
followingwasrecommendedinordertoprovideforabetterworkingestablishment:

RemodelingtheCentennialLibrary
AddinganexpansionontotheLibrarytogivethestudentsafreshnewlook

andwelcomingfeeling
Doingconstructionduringthewintermonthswhensignificantlylessstudents

arearound
Watchingthesuccessnumbersinstudentsrisebasedontheconfidencethey
have

BasedonthefactsandnumbersgivenintheabovereportTheUniversityofNew
Mexicocanallocatefundsfromthegovernmenttoprovideabetterwellbeingforthe
students.Thiswillgivethestudentswithdisabilitiesthechancetonowenterintothis
librarywiththeconfidenceofknowinghowtogetaround.Theadditiontothislibrary
willmakesomanypositivechangestotheUniversityofNewMexicothatthestudents
willthenenjoyformanyyearstocome.

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WORKSCITED
"NewMexico'sFlagshipUniversity|TheUniversityofNewMexico."NewMexico's
FlagshipUniversity|TheUniversityofNewMexico.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Nov.2015.
"NewMexico'sFlagshipUniversity|TheUniversityofNewMexico."NewMexico's
FlagshipUniversity|TheUniversityofNewMexico.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Nov.2015.
"NewSpaceAdditionCost."CosttoAddNewSpace.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Nov.2015.
"ODEPOfficeofDisabilityEmploymentPolicy."U.S.DepartmentofLabor.N.p.,n.d.
Web.23Nov.2015.
"PerSquareFootCostforHomeConstruction."PerSquareFootCost.N.p.,n.d.Web.23
Nov.2015.
"UniversityofNewMexico,MainCampus(UNM)."Photos&Videos.N.p.,n.d.Web.
23Nov.2015.

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