As those of you who use the library frequently may have noticed, there always seems to be something going on related to facilities in the building these days. In fact, in the next little while, the library will be completely closed from the evening of Fri. Mar. 2 and reopening at 9am on Tues. Mar. 6 to accommodate a complete ventilation shutdown and necessary work for the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) project. Here is the official announcement.
After-hours access will also be disabled. During this time, you are encouraged to use other branches. Please find branch opening hours here.
The HVAC project, which is set to be complete by June 2018, will see Schulich Library obtain updated heating and cooling facilities. You will find more details on the project here. Please bear with us. Once the HVAC project is finished, the library should be more comfortable for everyone.
In the mean time, there is also now a dedicated email you can use to let McGill Facilities staff know that the building (or any other library building) is too hot or too cold.
Unfortunately, the fun won’t stop with the HVAC project! In the future, the library will be going through exterior masonry work, similar to what is currently taking place and/or what will be taking place very soon in the Macdonald-Harrington Building and the Macdonald Engineering Building. You will find more details about those projects here. When it’s Schulich Library’s turn, there will be interior and exterior work being done simultaneously. Further announcements are forthcoming, once there is a projected timeline for the work in Schulich Library.
Our apologies for all the disruption. A comfortable space is the ultimate goal and unfortunately, sometimes you need to break some eggs to make a cake!
Of course, if you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to come to the service desk on the main floor or send an email to: schulich.library@mcgill.ca
Hi, this isn’t an extremely related comment, but I was really curious: what’s the small spire ( I don’t know if that’s the right word) on top of the building? It’s visible from high up in Burnside, and looks like it’s sort of in the middle of the building – not the attached turret integral to the side.
Thanks for your really interesting question. Before the building was a library, it was configured quite differently. However, the spire in the middle of the building that is visible from the exterior is also still visible from the inside on the sixth floor. Perhaps it was a way of adding light to the middle of the building and if so, that’s still what it is doing today in the form of a skylight. Next time you’re in the building on a bright day, look up as soon as you exit the elevator on the sixth floor and you will see how much light comes into the area from the skylight. Here is what it looks like: https://blogs.library.mcgill.ca/schulich/files/2018/03/skylight3.jpg
Previously, the building only had four floors with some areas having much higher ceilings than we now have anywhere in the library. Here is an example showing a lecture hall that was located within the building to give you an idea of the ceiling height:
http://www.archives.mcgill.ca/pictures/pr011286.gif
It’s hard to imagine but the opening to the skylight must have been even much longer than it is now, given that the height from floor to ceiling would have been greater when there were only four floors in the building.
For more historical information about the building, including interior and exterior photos, check out:
http://cac.mcgill.ca/campus/buildings/Macdonald-Stewart_Library.html
Best regards,
Tara