Furniture Outside of Bracken Library Provides Additional Gathering Place, Expands Use of Library’s Two Plazas

The University Libraries recently purchased five outdoor lawn tables to enrich Bracken Library’s north and south plazas. Since mid-April, students and faculty have been able to enjoy the green next to Bracken for research, learning, and discussion.

Already the tables are proving popular with students and others who want to catch some sunshine while taking a break or socializing outdoors, or while they enjoy food and beverages al fresco from the Bookmark Café.

Of course, Bracken’s plazas offer full wireless connectivity so that students and faculty can access the Libraries’ resources through their laptops, Macbooks, notebook computers, and Wi-Fi enabled small-screen devices, such as PDAs, Palm/PocketPCs, or smartphones.

The tables are olive color, feature a 42” diameter tabletop, have perforated backless seats, and provide superior corrosion resistance because of their all-aluminum construction. Their recycled content is 68% and each table is 100% recyclable. An additional feature is that the tables do not require the use of cleaning chemicals to maintain their finish.

On each plaza, one of the tables provides wheelchair accessibility. Each unit typically offers six backless seating positions; the wheelchair accessible units offer five. The tables were manufactured by Landscape Forms Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan, a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The outdoor furniture and the new indoor chairs recently added to Bracken Library are part of the continuing transformation of the University Libraries as a destination for students and faculty for research, learning, and friends. We want to make the University Libraries an inviting, friendly space that students and faculty visit first for their research and learning.