August 7, 2019

With the completion of a summer-long project to transform one of Drexel’s health sciences libraries, the Queen Lane Library officially reopened its doors to the Drexel community on August 7, 2019. 

The two-month project, which began June 3, is the Drexel Libraries’ latest effort to address student feedback for improvement in the space, also critical to a successful accreditation report.

The Libraries partnered with the College of Medicine to find funding for the project. Once funding was secured, Drexel University Real Estate and Facilities, the Libraries, and the College of Medicine started working with Strada, an architectural firm, and A. Pomerantz, a furniture vendor, to develop the plans to remodel the space. University Facilities’ Interior Design staff selected both vendors.

“Although only cosmetic, the changes are significant,” said Ann Yurcaba, the Libraries’ Administrative Services Director. “We recognize that many students and faculty in the College of Medicine prefer digital media, and we considered that feedback when we decided to reduce and move the small print collection at Queen Lane behind the service desk. The room that previously held the print collection was completely consumed by shelving, and we repurposed it as a quiet reading room.”

The Libraries also responded to students’ need for more spaces to study both alone and amidst peers by removing desktop computers. New furniture, including tables and chairs, have replaced the old individual cubicles, creating new learning environments where students have the option to study alone or with their peers and can utilize their personal laptops and tablets. Printing and scanning services will also be available.

Throughout the planning process, the Libraries also made it a priority to maintain space for its interlibrary loan staff, who provide library assistance services for Queen Lane clients, when not processing interlibrary loan requests for all campus readers on behalf of the University Libraries. Staff offices remain in the front of the Library, and new paint and furniture give those spaces a modern look and feel. A newly designated consultation room makes it even easier for librarians to come to Queen Lane to meet one-on-one with Drexel faculty, students or staff and support teaching, learning, and research.

“We appreciated the College of Medicine’s strong recognition of the Libraries’ contribution to its education mission, and welcomed this opportunity to partner with its administrators to reimagine the Queen Lane Library as a unique, modern environment that inspires and enables active learning,” said Danuta A. Nitecki, PhD, Dean of Libraries. “One of the Drexel Libraries’ strategic initiatives is to provide informal but intentionally designed learning environments that promote self-directed learning and inspire life-long quest for reading, seeking and relying on authoritative information in work and personal decisions. With Valerie Weber, Senior Vice Dean for Educational Affairs, as a persistent champion, this renovation models such an environment that supports focused programs in medicine and the health sciences.”

About Queen Lane Library

Part of the Drexel University Libraries’ managed resources, the Queen Lane Library is one of four physical sites and is located in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. The Library supports the educational needs of students in the first two years of medical school through access to a collection of print and online resources that support medical education, as well as some specimens and instruments. Queen Lane Library features recently renovated study areas that are accessible 24-hours a day for the use of Drexel University students, faculty, staff and residents.