There was good news out of Salem State College this week. School officials have decided on a location for a new library.
The site — the open area between Meir Hall and the Ellison Campus Center on SSC's North Campus — is a good one. Located just behind the oldest structure on campus, the Sullivan Building, it's in the historic center of a school that now sprawls south along Loring Avenue.
Much of SSC's growth in recent years has taken place on its Central Campus, the former site of a Sylvania maufacturing plant. That's where its Bertolon School of Business is located, and there's a new dormitory under construction next to the one that opened several years ago. In addition, there are ambitious plans for the former Atwood & Morrill site across the street, which a benefactor purchased for future college use.
But with the decision to keep the library there, SSC officials have ensured that the original campus at the corner of Loring and Lafayette streets will remain at the heart of student life. In addition to having the library (which has been temporarily relocated to the Bertolon building) and campus center where many student groups meet, the North Campus is also home to the Mainstage Auditorium and Callan Studio where productions by the school's acclaimed drama department take place.
Plans are to demolish the old library that looms over Lafayette Street. It's been declared structurally unsound despite being less than 40 years old. But the truth is many both within and outside the college community will be glad to see this example of the appropriately-named Brutalist style of architecture, go.
College officials say its replacement will be slightly smaller, reflecting the fact the emphasis in modern libraries is on technology and a variety of media rather than simple book storage. But we hope better judgment is exercised in both its design and construction.
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