Special Book Collections, Exhibit Space Help 'Illuminate Building from Within'
03/23/2016
By Ed Brennen
When O鈥橪eary Library was transformed into O鈥橪eary Learning Commons four years ago, the building鈥檚 emphasis smartly shifted from row after row of packed bookshelves to a modern, collaborative workspace where students had access to the latest technology and best scholarly databases.
Little by little, though, books have been creeping back into O鈥橪eary. And that鈥檚 by design, according to Mehmed Ali, program and project coordinator for the .
鈥淭he idea is to have books available for purposeful research, but also for the browsing element,鈥� Ali says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 for the person who wants to take a break from the calculus homework and maybe pick up a popular history or science book.鈥�
The transition began last summer when the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal, donated more than 300 books to the library鈥檚 Portuguese Collection. Then in the fall, the university鈥檚 collection of photography books was moved from Lydon Library to O鈥橪eary.
And most recently, the 鈥淒avid Wunsch Collection鈥� appeared on shelves scattered throughout the first floor of O鈥橪eary 鈥� a collection made possible thanks to a $10,000 donation from David Wunsch, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering.
鈥淚 grew up in a world of books,鈥� says Wunsch, whose childhood memories in Brooklyn, N.Y., are practically bound in hardcover. 鈥淢y parents were both serious readers. My mother was a librarian and my father was a mechanical engineer who was always reading. I still remember him reading a passage from 鈥楩innegans Wake.鈥� 鈥�
That鈥檚 a big reason why Wunsch earmarked his donation solely for the purpose of buying books, preferably in the fields of humanities and the arts.
鈥淚 like this school a lot. I feel affection for it,鈥� says Wunsch, who began teaching at Lowell Tech in 1969. He transitioned to adjunct status in 2002 before completely stepping down from teaching five years ago. Today he toils in his first-floor office in the Olney Science Center, writing textbooks and working as a book review editor for IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. His office shelves are brimming not only with books (of course), but also his collection of old radios.
While Wunsch鈥檚 research interests include the history of technology, there is one technological innovation he wants nothing to do with.
鈥淚鈥檝e never read an ebook. I鈥檝e never been near one,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want books. I often mark my books up heavily, and if it鈥檚 a cheap paperback, I may recycle it when I鈥檓 done with it because it鈥檚 such a mess. But I will not read an ebook in my lifetime.鈥�
Ali says more books will be added to O鈥橪eary over the next two to three years, with English literature the next collection on deck this summer.
O鈥橪eary鈥檚 mezzanine, meanwhile, has been turned into an exhibit space this year. Several different photo and art exhibits have been on display, including one on homeless families and another on domestic workers.
鈥淲e want to really showcase people鈥檚 great materials 鈥� by faculty, staff or students. It could be historical, it could be contemporary. Anything,鈥� Ali says. 鈥淲e want to create an atmosphere which helps illuminate the building from within.鈥�