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University library space supports programming changes when collections, study areas, teaching rooms, technology and staff operations are planned as one system rather than as isolated rooms. The University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library renovation, described by GBBN in Building Design + Construction, shows the approach: reduce on-site shelving, add varied collaborative and instructional spaces, improve access to daylight and views, and connect making activities with library expertise.
Hillman is a project case study, not proof of a universal library formula. Its reported figures and intended benefits should therefore be used as prompts for a local program, operating plan and post-occupancy review—not copied as standards.
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What changed at Hillman Library?
According to GBBN’s 2024 account, Hillman reduced on-site shelving from 91,000 linear feet to 27,000 linear feet. GBBN describes that as removing 70% of the collection from the building. The released area was reassigned to specialty services, group study, makerspaces and classrooms rather than left as undifferentiated open floor.
The change reflects a collection strategy shaped by digital communication and shared databases. A university may no longer need every location to hold every title, but that does not mean physical collections become irrelevant. Hillman retained distinct on-site collections and used curated displays—including artifacts and digital exhibits—to make discovery visible. Display areas, administrative offices and makerspaces were organized around a central monumental stair, which GBBN says was intended to encourage movement and discovery.
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GBBN also summarizes the broader purpose with the phrase “Owned by none, welcome to all, academic libraries are democratizing.” That is the firm’s framing of the project, not a measured sector-wide finding. The practical lesson is that a library’s value can be expressed through access, teaching, creation and community as well as through storage.
How can collection space become useful program space?
Conversion starts with decisions about what must remain on site and why. Library leaders should classify materials by research frequency, preservation requirements, teaching use, browsing value and the feasibility of shared or remote storage. A title that is rarely requested may not need a prime floor location; a special collection used in seminars may need secure, nearby teaching space even if it occupies relatively little shelving.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsOnce the retained collection is defined, the design team can map the released area against actual program requirements. A makerspace may need robust power, extraction, acoustic separation and loading access. A classroom needs sightlines, flexible furniture, instructional technology and a schedule that does not conflict with peak study periods. A display zone needs secure cases, controllable lighting and a rotation plan. Treating all freed square footage as interchangeable usually creates operational conflicts later.
Hillman’s example also suggests that discovery should be designed, not assumed. Collections, exhibits and service points arranged along a visible circulation route can invite exploration, while a remote storage room cannot. The route must still meet accessibility, security and wayfinding requirements; a dramatic stair is not a substitute for clear signage, lifts and step-free connections.
How much collaborative and teaching space did the renovation add?
Hillman went from four group study rooms to 47 distributed over four floors. GBBN reports the following distribution:
| Floor | Group study rooms | Reported role in the layout |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | 18 | More socially active level, with high-visibility shared activity |
| Second | 6 | Intermediate choice between social and quiet work |
| Third | 12 | Quieter work with options for individual or group use |
| Fourth | 11 | Upper-level, quieter study choice |
The project also includes two new classrooms, two collaboration seminar rooms, an expanded digital scholarship classroom and a special collections instruction room. Those rooms can support regular teaching, events, guest speakers and remote seminars, provided the library’s booking and staffing policies match the physical capacity.
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The vertical distribution is deliberate. Lower levels were intended to accommodate more social activity, while upper levels provide quieter settings. Students still have choices within that hierarchy: a person working alone can use a room or zone that is not designated exclusively for groups, and a project team can select a collaborative room without taking over a silent reading area. GBBN presents this as a design strategy; the article does not report measured noise, learning or satisfaction outcomes.
Why do daylight, views and staff location matter?
At Hillman, offices and study carrels had occupied perimeter areas and limited how deeply light and views could reach into the building. GBBN says the renovation moved those functions and consolidated staff space near the central stair. The stated aim was to share daylight and views more broadly while keeping staff close to student activity.
This arrangement can support visibility and assistance: staff located near a central circulation point may be easier to find, and a compact work area can reduce duplicated service locations. It also requires careful planning for privacy, confidential conversations, storage and staff access outside public hours. A central location should not become a noisy bottleneck or expose sensitive work to constant traffic.
No quantified daylight exposure, post-occupancy well-being result or productivity measurement is provided in the case study. A university considering a similar move should establish its own criteria—such as glare control, usable views, hours of occupation and accessibility—and verify them through design simulations and post-occupancy evaluation.
What can a library makerspace support?
Hillman’s listed makerspace capabilities include CNC machines, laser cutters, sewing machines, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, and film and audio recording studios. These are examples of a program mix, not a universal equipment list. Each device implies requirements for power, data, ventilation, heat management, acoustic control, consumables, supervision, training and safe storage.
The Text and conText Lab provides a different model. Located near special collections, it combines study of collection materials with bookbinding and letterpress classes. This proximity links handling, interpretation and production: students can investigate an object, learn a related process and create work in the same broader program area. Such a lab needs conservation rules, clean and dirty work zones, controlled materials and staff who understand both collections care and instruction.
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GBBN reports that Hillman partnered with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Creativity, which supplied some equipment. The partners share staffing and service programming. That arrangement can make an ambitious facility more viable, but it also requires written agreements covering ownership, budgets, maintenance, training, scheduling, risk management and responsibility when equipment is unavailable.
How should activity and noise be organized across floors?
Libraries can use a gradient rather than a single “quiet versus loud” divide. Social study, events and drop-in help can be placed where arrival and circulation are easiest. Group rooms, teaching spaces and media production can occupy zones with appropriate acoustic separation. Upper or more remote areas can offer concentrated study, while still providing small rooms for pairs or teams.
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Vertical zoning works only when users can understand it. Signage, floor maps, room booking displays and consistent rules should explain where conversation, calls, food, recording and equipment use are acceptable. Mechanical systems, doors, partitions and finishes need to support the intended separation; assigning a room to quiet study does not make it quiet if adjacent equipment creates vibration or speech noise.
Flexibility is valuable, but every movable room needs an operating decision. If furniture, displays or technology can be reconfigured, identify who may change them, how quickly a room can be reset and where spare components are stored. Otherwise, “flexible” space may remain in one configuration because no unit has time or authority to change it.
What operating plan makes new library space work?
Space does not deliver a program by itself. Before construction, the library should write a service brief for each proposed room: primary users, activities, opening hours, staffing, booking priority, equipment, safety controls, maintenance and success indicators. The brief should distinguish scheduled instruction from informal use so that a classroom is not counted as generally available study space when it is occupied most of the day.
Partnerships need the same discipline. A campus creativity center, school, museum or media unit may contribute equipment or expertise, but the library should document who pays for consumables, who trains users, who handles repairs and who closes the room when no qualified supervisor is present. Shared programming can broaden access; unclear accountability can leave expensive rooms idle.
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Collection changes also require service continuity. If materials move to remote storage, define request and delivery times, scanning permissions, emergency access and preservation responsibilities. Retained collections and rotating displays need a refresh calendar, catalog links and security procedures. Without these processes, a visually successful renovation can weaken research access.
How can campus planners compare design options?
Use the following sequence to turn a desired program into testable design decisions.
- Define the academic program. List teaching formats, research support, events, making, advising, exhibitions and informal study. Identify peak periods and users who need controlled access.
- Set the collection policy. Decide which materials remain on site, which move elsewhere and how users will discover both. Record preservation, browsing and instruction needs before drawing new rooms.
- Map activity and noise. Place social, collaborative, instructional, production and quiet functions on a floor-by-floor diagram. Check adjacencies, acoustic separation, accessible routes and after-hours control.
- Test daylight and views. Compare perimeter assignments for study, staff, collections and support spaces. Review glare, thermal comfort, privacy and whether staff can still assist users effectively.
- Specify infrastructure. For every piece of equipment, document power, data, ventilation, extraction, structural loading, fire protection, acoustics, storage and maintenance. Remove equipment whose operational requirements cannot be funded or staffed.
- Secure partners and governance. Assign ownership of equipment, budgets, training, booking, safety and replacement cycles. Put shared responsibilities in an agreement rather than relying on informal promises.
- Plan evaluation. Establish what will be reviewed after opening: room utilization by purpose, collection request fulfillment, access to instruction, equipment uptime, user wayfinding and staff workload. These measures should test the local program, not imply that Hillman’s figures are benchmarks.
What mistakes should libraries avoid?
Removing shelves without a collection-service plan. A percentage reduction is not a program. If delivery, browsing or special-collections teaching is compromised, the space trade may damage the library’s core mission.
Counting rooms instead of capacity. Forty-seven rooms can still be difficult to use if booking rules, furniture, technology or staffing do not match demand. Define room size, occupancy, equipment and availability, not just the number of doors.
Putting every active use on one floor. Concentrating noise may simplify management, but it can also create congestion and make other floors feel disconnected. Hillman’s distributed approach offers choices, yet each campus must test its own circulation, structure and acoustic conditions.
Treating daylight as a purely aesthetic benefit. Light and views must be balanced with glare, heat, screen work, privacy and conservation requirements. The case study describes an intended benefit, not a quantified outcome.
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Buying equipment before funding the service. A CNC machine, printer or recording suite needs consumables, calibration, repairs, training and supervision. A smaller, dependable equipment set may support more learning than a larger collection that cannot stay operational.
Assuming a partnership will run itself. Shared staffing is useful only when roles, hours, risk controls and renewal costs are explicit. Review the agreement as programs evolve.
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Three principles are broadly useful. First, treat collection reduction as a program opportunity only after access and preservation are protected. Second, provide a deliberate range of settings—from social and collaborative to quiet and individual—rather than one generic reading room. Third, connect space planning to an operating model that names staff, partners, equipment and schedules.
Other details are project-specific. Hillman’s exact shelving and room counts, central stair arrangement, floor distribution and partnership with the Center for Creativity should not be presented as a standard. Building age, structure, enrollment, collection profile, budget, campus geography and staffing will produce different answers.
The strongest planning question is therefore not “How do we copy Hillman?” It is “Which academic-library activities are growing, which physical resources can move, and what space, infrastructure and people must be aligned to serve them?” Answering that question transparently lets a university make a defensible trade between storage and participation while preserving the research functions that still require a library.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can reducing on-site shelving harm research access?
It can if delivery, browsing, preservation and special-collections teaching are not specified before materials move. A collection plan should set service-level expectations for requesting remote items and identify materials that must remain immediately available.
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No. The right program depends on demonstrated courses, research needs, partners and operating capacity. A library can support active learning through media studios, book arts, exhibition work or scheduled fabrication access without reproducing Hillman’s full equipment mix.
How should a library decide which makerspace equipment to fund?
Start with recurring activities and qualified instructors, then document infrastructure, consumables, maintenance and safety costs for each proposed device. Pilot demand through scheduled classes or partner programs before committing to a large permanent inventory.
What should be verified before using Hillman’s room or collection figures in a project brief?
Confirm the current condition and operation of Hillman directly, because the published case is from September 2024 and describes a design account rather than an independent audit. Treat its counts as context for discussion, not as code requirements or utilization targets.
