Proposal Outline

 I have started writing and thinking about my proposal- see below for the outline!


Your proposal must be written with the following questions in mind –

a) what is your subject + a succinct history etc.?

  • Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library

  • Built between 1916 and 1920

  • Cost $615,000 

  • Architects: Albert Kahn of Detroit, in consultation with William Warner Bishop, the first head librarian of the new building.

  • In 1915, the regents declared the old library building to be unsafe, due to the wood used in construction of the roof and much of the frame.

  • Roughly modeled on the Harvard and University of California libraries, the four-story structure was built on the site of the old library, and reused its two fireproof bookstacks. Two new bookstacks were built perpendicular to the old stacks, one on either side, and designed to permit additional construction up to a height of fifteen stories.

  • The building was constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, and each floor was isolated from the ones above and below.

  • The first floor entrance hallway was, and still is, decorated in a Pompeian motif, with display cases. 

  • On the north side of the second floor was the main reading room of the library, which has not changed significantly.

  • The two large frescoes at the east and west ends of the room are "The Arts of Peace" and "The Arts of War", by Gari Melchers. They were painted in 1893 for the Manufactures Building at the World's Fair in Chicago.

  • 8th president of the University

  • A former dean and English professor at Ohio State University

  • During his tenure: acquisition and development of the north campus began, and the Flint and Dearborn campuses were opened. 

  • Controversies over the firing of two faculty members during the McCarthy era and the rise of student activism also marked Hatcher's' years.

b) what is it you want to do?

  • I want to make the space more accessible to students

  • Make the resources inside of it known and easily navigable- ex. The special collections/special maps → I wouldn't have known about it unless my class hadn’t brought me and it's open to all UM students! 

c) why it is important to do it?

  • There is so much ground to cover and it can be overwhelming to know where to look

  • The stacks are also fun to wander through but can get scary and isolating

  • There are great study spots as well

  • The building has such a strange layout and divided into north and south so it is very confusing to figure out where to go

  • Allow students to feel comfortable in a space that offers so much

  • Can also be beneficial to the librarians to help students find what they need 

d) how you are going to do it?

  • I plan to make a visual language based around the existing motifs of the building- ex. The architecture as well the pompeian frescoes original to the building→ i want to play off of elements in those paintings to use for my identity

  • Demarcate the north and south sides clearly so it is clear how to access both

  • Create a system to find study spots vs. resources/offices vs. books

  • Speak to both students, custodians/building staff, and librarians to see what the space could use in terms of navigation and accessibility

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