Geisel Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Geisel Library is the main library building on the University of California, San Diego campus and contains six of the eleven libraries located on campus. It is home to the Art & Architecture Library (AAL),the Film and Video Reserves (FVR), the Mandeville Special Collections Library (SPEC), the Music, Film & Video Libraries Services (MFVL), the Science & Engineering Library (S&E) and the Social Sciences & Humanities Library (SSHL).
The library itself is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Geisel for the generous contributions they have made to the library and their devotion to improving literacy. The Geisels were long-time residents of La Jolla, where UC San Diego is located.
The library is featured in the UCSD logo and is the most recognizable building on campus. It is located in the center of the campus with the library walk to its south, Thurgood Marshall College to its West and Earl Warren College to its East.
The library was called simply the "Central Library" until it was renamed Geisel Library in 1995.
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[edit] Design
The distinctive original building was designed in the late 1960s by William Pereira to sit at the head of a canyon. Considering the location, Pereira originally conceived of a spherical building resting atop a pedestal, with the structural elements on the inside. After several drafts of this ball-shaped design, the structural elements were deemed as being too space-consuming, and they were moved to the outside of the structure, essentially resulting in the current "lantern" design. Pereira envisioned that future additions to the original building would form terraced levels around the tower base descending into the canyon. The tower is a prime example of brutalist architecture. It rises 8 stories to a height of 110 ft (33.5 m). The five upper stories of the tower itself house the SSHL and East Asia collections.
A photo of the building taken by Julius Shulman was used as the cover image for James Steele's chronicle of Pereira's career, called simply William Pereira.
The Library Addition, designed by Gunnar Birkerts in the early 1990s, was "deliberately designed to be subordinated to the strong, geometrical form of the existing library." [1] Within its two subterranean levels are the other library sections as well as study spaces and computer labs.
[edit] Pop culture references
- The TV series Simon & Simon featured the library in its opening credits.
- Geisel Library made an appearance as the exterior of a research lab in Part III of the 4-part cult film series Attack of the Killer Tomatoes entitled ‘Killer Tomatoes Strike Back.’
- The science fiction novel Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, a retired SDSU professor, includes a major subplot focusing on the library.
[edit] See also
- Dr. Seuss
- University of California, San Diego
- Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, N.H.
[edit] External links
- About the Geisel Building
- Official UCSD Libraries Homepage
- [2] Francis Crick's personal papers
