The Penn Library Opens New Facilities for Reference and Study. One morning in early December, Paul Mosher, vice provost and director of libraries at Penn, opened his e-mail and found a note posted to the Library s Web site, the kind of note that is mother s milk to any library director. It came from David Effross, an undergraduate using a computer in the new Class of 1964 Lookup Center , in Penn s main Library, the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. What we ve done right, commented Mosher, is to transform a worn and design-flawed building into a set of highly functional, ergonomic work spaces created for the information services of the future.
Students love it.
Together, they comprise an elegant and very wired set of reference and quiet study areas. Reference Center features a striking slate and cherry service desk. The new desk oversees the Class of 1964 Lookup Center . Here, thirty-six computer workstations provide access to the digital heart of the Library, its online catalog and a swiftly growing array of databases, electronic journals and full text reference resources, such as the Britannica Online. Speaking about the Lookup Center, Class leader and Library Overseer, Herbert S. Adler said, The Class of 64 is very pleased to have this facility come on line.