Cornelliana Iconic Olin Library ‘Call Board’ to Get a (Literal) Glow-Up Stories You May Like Flower Power: In Olin Library, a Study Space with Botanical Flair We Heart the Hill: A Celebration of Beloved Campus Spots What’s Tiny, Bookish, and Made of Bricks? Lego Olin Library! After shining as a numerical beacon above the circulation desk for decades, the sign will soon have a new life—as a clock By Joe Wilensky At the age of 63, Olin Library is in the midst of a major renovation of its first floor and basement level that will modernize its access and spaces. The building’s 1961 exterior—long likened to a giant IBM punch card—will remain unchanged. And fear not, library fans: an iconic element—the numbered call board that has hung over the circulation desk since the building opened—will be given a new life in the refreshed space. “The call board is one of Olin’s most distinctive and beloved features,” says librarian Susette Newberry, PhD ’99. “The entire renovation team insisted on finding a place for it in the new design.” Also known as a “paging numbers” sign, the Cold War-era display features light-up numerals from 1 to 100. Measuring nearly 19 feet wide, a foot high, and 7.5 inches deep, it’s the most visible part of the library’s erstwhile access system. Employees staffed checkpoints for the upper-floor stacks. When Olin opened—and until well into the 1990s—it was a “closed-stack” research library: only grad students and faculty (and the occasional undergrad with a special pass) were allowed to go upstairs to browse and retrieve books and other materials. To access items, other patrons had to fill out a slip at the circulation desk and would receive a number—yes, just like at a deli counter. A few of the sign’s analog switches. The request slip was then sent via a pneumatic tube system to the appropriate floor and section, where student workers were stationed. (While the system is no longer operative, some of the tubes still exist within Olin’s walls.) Once the item was sent down to the main floor via dumbwaiter (also still extant), the patron would be alerted by the call board, which would light up the corresponding number. The entire process—from request to retrieval to checkout—would ideally take under 10 minutes. Stories You May Like Flower Power: In Olin Library, a Study Space with Botanical Flair We Heart the Hill: A Celebration of Beloved Campus Spots Olin’s main floor in 1972. (Interestingly: when the tube system broke down in 1961–62 and undergrads were briefly allowed full stack access, grad students complained that they were poaching their favorite study spots.) Once the stacks opened to all in the mid-’90s, the call board was used far less often—though it was still employed for special requests and to page certain materials. During the COVID pandemic, it even enjoyed a temporary comeback, as paging requests surged during the many months of social distancing. Now, the Olin renovation is spurring a new chapter in the life of the vintage device. Library staff are partnering with students in electrical and computer engineering to repurpose the call board as a digital clock—making it a both a timepiece and something of a work of art. Their faculty advisor, senior lecturer Joe Skovira, PhD ’90, has some relevant experience: in 2022, he helped students repair the electronics in the Bill Nye ’77 Solar Noon Clock atop Rhodes Hall. An early-’60s view at the circulation desk. While the call board’s original wiring will be preserved as much as possible, the incandescent bulbs behind each number will be replaced with multicolor LEDs controlled by computer. Students are still designing the method by which the numerals will function as a clock; 1–12 would be used for hours and 1–60 for minutes, with dual colors likely used when a numeral is needed for both simultaneously. The new clock is expected to be installed over the 2024–25 winter break, with the entire renovation completed by spring 2025. A rendering shows the sign's new spot on a renovated first floor. “It will be both a tribute to Olin’s past as a closed-stack library,” says Jon Ladley, Cornell University Library’s director of facilities planning, “and an inviting beacon in the building’s next chapter as an open and welcoming space for all.” Top: Olin’s circulation desk in the 1970s. (Vintage images by Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections; others provided.) Published June 12, 2024 Comments Dolores Gebhardt, Class of 1981 16 Jun, 2024 Catherwood Library was one big social scene for me, so Olin Library became one of my favorite study spots. There were a limited number of passes for undergraduates, so I’d get there the second it opened to snare one. Then I’d head for a carrel in the stacks and spend the day. I’d sneak a Collegetown Bagel in for lunch. If I wanted to take a break. I’d wander in the stacks and find a book that had nothing to do with what I was supposed to be studying! Peace, quiet and pure bliss! Reply Nicholas Adams, Class of 1970 16 Jun, 2024 Much loved? It was exclusionary. I did everything I could to get a pass…and remember the pleasure of exploring the stacks. And only irritation when waiting for my number to come up. Reply Ann Cvetkovich, Class of 1988 16 Jun, 2024 So glad to know this – I have fond memories of the call board – and I’m glad for the nod to Olin’s history as a closed-stack library. I basically lived there in the 1980s – as did many of my fellow grad students in English – because in the pre-digital era the only way we could access our reserve reading was through single copies of the books. And our assigned reserve room also became a gathering space that was central to our collective life both social and individual. I miss that aspect of library life. Reply Stacey Merola, Class of 1994 19 Jun, 2024 I worked as a page in Olin library as an undergraduate in the early 1990s and remember the board very well. At that point we weren’t using the vacuum tubes, so I missed out on that experience. Getting a request for a book on the 8th floor was particularly exciting since that floor was closed to everyone else at that point. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Reply Robert S Slocum, Class of 1977 19 Jun, 2024 Well remember the sound of the tubes when getting the request as a Pager in the Stacks Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Quizzes & Puzzles Cornellian Crossword: ‘Halls of Fame’ Cornelliana 150 Years of Mechanical Engineering on the Hill: Fascinating Facts Cornelliana Big Red Books, Perfect for Gifting