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The memories of college librarians pressing forefingers against their lips to shush patrons gabbing in the book aisles are becoming as faded as the pages of some of the oldest tomes found on library shelves.

These days more students use campus libraries as places to work together on collaborative projects. And that trend is changing the way institutions of higher learning are designing, building and renovating libraries like Clark Memorial Library on the campus.

Starting in May, the library will undergo a $12 million major renovation in which areas of the library that have been used for quiet study since the聽 building was built in 1957 will be transformed into spaces that work better for collaborative learning.

鈥淪tudents work together more than they use to,鈥� said Drew Harrington, dean of the library. 鈥淲hen the building was built, it was about books and quiet spaces. This will support students the way they study today.鈥�

Although no new square footage will be added during the renovation, all of the interior walls of the 56,000-square-foot building will be knocked down and each of the structure’s three levels repurposed. All of the library’s books, for example, will find a permanent home on compact shelving in the bottom basement-level floor of the building.

The choice of location for the books plays a key role in creating more collaborative spaces, according to Andrew Burke, an architect with , which handled the renovation design.

鈥淭he main question we tried to answer in this project was: In a world where students can sit down and access information from all over the world from their iPads, what’s the purpose of the library if it’s not about books?鈥� Burke said. 鈥淧utting the books downstairs will free up the main floor and upper floor for more flexible and open study space.鈥�

The bottom floor of the renovated library also will offer more hold more traditional library space, with individual study stations.

Elsewhere in the library, 19 collaborative study rooms will offer joint technology features such as projector screens that can be connected to students’ laptop computers.

The library’s ground floor, which is the main level of the building, will feature movable furniture, with the idea that the students will create their own furniture groups as needed, Burke said. That floor also will feature a learning lab where librarians and research assistants will help students with projects.

Outside of the main floor, a new external stair tower and terrace 鈥� the only work to be done on the building’s exterior 鈥� will be built to create a formal entrance.

鈥淲hen the building was originally built, the main academic quad wasn’t really there, so now the entrance seems like it’s on the wrong side of the building,鈥� Burke said. 鈥淭his will allow us to create a much stronger visual. When you come in on the main level there will be a much clearer progression where one goes.鈥�

The new entry also will allow security guards to monitor the entrance more easily than the building’s current entry, so students will be able to access the library at any point during day or night, something the library could never previously allowed.

Back inside the library, the upper floor will feature a classroom and a media lab, where students will be able to use computers and other multimedia equipment to work together on assignments.

鈥淚t’s really not so much about what’s in there, but instead it’s about what you can do in there,鈥� Harrington, the library dean, said. 鈥淭here will be a sound room where students can edit sound clips, a green screen; it’ll be a hands-on, interactive area for creative work.鈥�

The renovated library won’t just be modern-day in its configuration. The low floor-to-ceiling spaces in the existing building prevent the installation of air ducts, so the design team decided to install a chilled-beam system, Burke said.

While the system will save space, it’s also highly energy efficient and could help the building earn at silver or higher rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, Burke said.

The renovation, which is being handled by general contractor Todd Construction, also includes a complete rewiring of the building and the installation of updated Internet access and easier access to wall outlets.

鈥淩ight now, we have chords that drag across the floor, limited wheelchair access and the space is seedy, uncomfortable and extremely dated,鈥� Harrington said.

The renovation is being paid for with donations from multiple local nonprofit groups and private donors. Once construction begins in May, the building will be closed for 14 months, during which time, the library will operate out of various small locations across campus.