Revolving doors keep library heating bills down

For some students, Morgan Library is quiet enough to sleep

undisturbed, but the sound of drills and hammers at the library’s

north entrance startled a few students on Sept. 26.

The construction at the entrance was the removal of the double

sliding doors and the installation of a revolving entrance. After a

year of battling heating problems in the winter, the library sought

a remedy.

“Both our library and maintenance staff were having problems

with the temperatures in the building,” said George Jaramillo,

assistant dean of Administrative Services for the library. “Because

(the entrance) faced north and was such a wide entrance, the door

made the building’s temperature difficult to control.”

Jaramillo said last year the library attempted to use a heat

curtain to resolve the problem but it was ineffective and made too

much noise. A heat curtain is a thermal barrier of air to insulate

the building.

Construction on the door was set to begin this summer, but

according to Facilities Management, the contractor could not

deliver on the set date.

“Due to the delay, construction had to be done during the school

year,” said Mike Davis, an engineering science technologist with

Facilities Management. “We did our best to keep construction on the

weekend, and out of students’ way.”

Though the construction was delayed, Jaramillo said everyone was

accommodating and that he received no related complaints.

He also said one concern was that placing a revolving door in

such a high traffic area may cause congestion.

“Revolving doors are not common in the West, so we’re expecting

a few months for students to adjust,” Jaramillo said. “We didn’t

know if it would create a bottleneck or not, but it seems to be

moving just fine.”

Some student response has not been as welcoming.

“I think (the door’s) just a pain and they direct people the

wrong way,” said Jesse Faux, a sophomore wildlife biology major. “I

don’t know why they put them up, or how much they spent, but it

seems like a waste of money.”

Some other students are afraid of revolving doors.

“I just don’t use them,” said Floye Wells, a graduate student of

ecology. “Revolving doors scare me.”

Other students had more patience with the new doors.

“I could see it helping out in the winter because it does get

cold in here, but I think it could back traffic up a lot.” Kevin

Delvy, sophomore, a business finance major said.

Davis said that due to the rise in natural gas prices over the

past year, many buildings on campus are addressing their heating

systems.

“Trying to be as energy efficient as possible is just something

that is always ongoing for us,” he said.