Monday 19 December
Work affecting USA has finished – open access to shelves again.
Graduate Reading Room is open – but some varnishing remains to be done. (Talk of this happening overnight – but not sure that it will happen this year!)
Wednesday 14 December
Peace and quiet now as we wait for both plaster and tile glue to dry. The painting and varnishing is scheduled to be done by the end of this week – should be quiet but I know some people are unhappy with the smell of paints and varnishes. If you are then probably the Gallery Wing and the computer rooms will probably be the best places to try.
Friday 9 December
Spurt of activitiy now – plasterers working on the ceiling above the USA collection and tilers working on the Lower Floor outside the Graduate Reading Room. Access to Graduate Reading Room will probably not be possible till Saturday 10 at the earliest … Access to Official Papers is via the small staircase that runs up/down near the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer IT Room. Staff will be happy to point the way.
Do remember that free ear plugs are available from the Law Library main desk!
Thursday 8 December
Proof – if any were needed – of the importance of testing flood defences on a roof was demonstrated today! Happy to report no inconvenience to readers and no lasting damage to our stock – thanks to the speedy reactions of both library staff and builders.
Sensibly, the plastering of the ceiling has been delayed while the last bit of roof work continues.
The builders are gradually removing their encampment from the car park around the LawBod – and I am happy to report that the disabled access to the library is back to normal again now.
It is certainly lovely to have the scaffolding gone from all the windows !
Wednesday 7 December UPDATE
Today our new and improved roof will be undergoing testing, so seating in some areas around the library will not be available – it is taped off, so clearly visible.
Tuesday 6 December UPDATE
Today we are expecting some mobile scaffolding to be installed in the USA section (gallery) of the library, so that plastering can begin. So please contact staff at law.library@bodleian.ox.ac.uk if you would like us to get USA books off the open shelves for you before this area goes – literally- under wraps for the rest of the week.
The new tiles are down in the GRR – but will have to be varnished in due course. And we expect work to start on the floor outside the entrance to the GRR . We have been assured that access to the room will still be possible – but you may have to ask the workmen which way
Monday 5 December UPDATE
As per schedule, the work has started on the floor of the graduate reading room. Most of the time it is just gentle tapping – but there are brief bursts of drilling/sanding tools. So though you can access the room would recommend working elsewhere in the Library.
With the ending of Full Term various teams of workmen will be working inside and outside the Law Bod doing some final brush up and polish jobs required after the complete overhaul of our roof and the remodelling of the Graduate Reading Room.
These works will start on the afternoon of Monday 5 December – and should be over within a fortnight.
Below is some detail as to which parts of the library will be affected – and how the Library Staff hope to minimise the impact on readers. This Blog will also be used to monitor progress for you.
- USA Collection The ceiling is having damaged plaster removed, new plaster and then new paint. If you know that you will be using the hardcopy USA collections on the upper floor over the next two weeks, please get in touch with us, as soon as possible. These collections will be covered with sheeting while the ceiling is repaired, and so we should like to retrieve any books that you know you will be using beforehand.
- Carrels beside USA collection If you have a carrel on the East side (alongside the Manor Road Building), you will still be able to access it. However, you may be disturbed by noise (although this will be kept to a minimum). If this will be very disruptive to you, please come and talk to the staff, so that we can find you another place to sit.
- Graduate Reading Room If you usually sit in the Graduate Reading Room, this will still be open, but some of the floor tiles will be replaced on Monday and Tuesday. There is bound to be some disturbance, although they will be as quiet as possible, and if you dislike the smell of glue or varnish, I suggest you sit elsewhere. Again, if you have difficulty finding somewhere to work, please ask the staff.
- Main Reading Room On Wednesday 7 December, there will be workmen present in the Library carrying out floodwater testing. They have promised to be as quiet as possible, but it will not be silent.
We are very sorry about the disturbance: if you would like some ear plugs, please ask at the Enquiry Desk, and please do talk to the staff about any problems associated with the works. We shall do all we can to help.
