Volume XCIV, Number 40 University of Southern California Tuesday, November 1, 1983
Library needs $36 million
Report outlines cost of proposed improvements
By Joann Galardy
Assistant Qty Editor
The university's library staff has recommended that the university spend $36,275,500 to improve the library, with an additional two million dollars provided for annual costs.
In a recently published report submitted to Cornelius Pings, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, the staff called for approximately $13 million in improvements in Doheny Library, $15.5 million in refurbishment of the branch libraries, and approximately $6 million for the construction of new branch libraries.
The report said the biggest deficiency in the library system is a lack of space for both students and books. As a solution to these problems, the committee has proposed that the total number of seats be increased from 2,239 to 4,100 — an increase of 1,861 seats. Currently, the library system has space for only 10.7 percent of the university population. If the seating changes are approved, there would be sufficient seating for 19.5 percent of the university population.
One of the proposals designed to increase space involves the moving of the College Library to a new underground space located to the northwest of Doheny Library. The new underground facility would possibly connect to the
VonKleinsmid Library, the report said.
In addition to the increases in space, the library staff has proposed that the university more than double the book capacity of the library system. Under the proposal, 1,319,500 volumes would be added to the current holding of 1,096,000 volumes,
The report said the biggest deficiency in the library system is a lack of space for both students and books.
bringing the total number of volumes to 2,415,500.
In order to accomplish these goals of expansion, the staff proposed an increase in total square footage from 209,883 to 3%,501.
It is estimated that remodeling in Doheny alone will cost $75 per square foot, refurbishment of existing facilities will cost $50 per square foot, and construction of new facilities will be priced at $200 per square foot.
"(The library system) has major needs which must be met in order to enable it to approximate the aspirations of the faculty, students, and administration," the report said. "Clearly, the li-
brary is not now equal to other university programs."
During the past year, university attention has focused on the library, which has come under intense scrutiny by critics, such as the Student Senate, which considers the library to be defu-dent in quality.
But while the administration has expressed support for the principle of library improvements, disagreement over a final monetary figure has hindered the advancement of the proposal.
"Libraries are very difficult to raise money for,” said Jon Strauss, senior vice president of administration. “The people who are most dependent on the library are not the people who support it."
The next step toward advancing the plan will come in mid-November when copies of the proposal are distributed to students, faculty, and staff members of various university departments for approval, said Robert Biller, vice provost.
"The recommendation the (library) came forward with is one (the provost's office) considers quite feasible,” Biller said. "However, the plan represents a very bold commitment and we don't know how we're going to accomplish it."
Funding for the project will be under the direction of Roger Olson, senior vice president of un-(Continued on page 12)
Security officials seek carpool improvements
By Kari-Lyn Osaki
Staff Writer
University Security has stepped up efforts to improve its four-year-old carpooling program by sending out more than
9,000	ride-sharing application forms to staff and faculty.
Currently, about 250 people use the ride-sharing program, which was created four years ago during the oil crisis. But University Security hopes to increase the number of carpoolers to deal with a different potential crisis — the traffic congestion expected at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
"I have noticed there has been an increase in requests to participate in the program," said Dennis Archambault, special program administrator for university security and ride-sharing coordinator.
Archambault said as the Olympics approach more people will realize that traffic near the university will be a problem and then decide to participate in a carpool.
A computer printout of eligible staff and faculty has been compiled, and is being sorted according to zip code, listing all persons by name, campus address and campus telephone number.
Those interested in the program will be sent that portion of
the computer printout listing the staff and faculty members who also reside in the same zip code area. Those not wishing to participate will be removed from the list.
Once the interested people receive the printout, it will be up to them to find one or two people to carpool with.
Of the 1000 responses received so far, 60 percent of them have requested the computer printout, Archambault said.
"I am not surprised at the response. I knew many staff and faculty members were interested, but either they didn't want to take the initiative by sending me their name and address, or didn't know what to do," Archambault said.
Archambault also added that he is receiving a "six-inch stack" of responses daily and expects it to continue until Nov. 14, the date when the printouts will be sent out.
Since then there have been approximately 250 people involved in the program. Prior to this project, interested participants contacted Archambault and gave him the necessary information. From that point, Archambault would act as the negotiator and try to find a match for each interested party.
"The problem was that there were over 500 zip codes that in-
volve faculty and staff members and only 250 people in our data base," Archambault said. "Not only that, but a lot of the information we were working with dated back to when the program first began — three or four years ago.
"We as a society don't like to carpool because we like the independence of driving on our own, but for those who do want to participate, this process should make it easier for them to get involved."
Current statistics show that there were 118 carpool permits issued among the entire staff and faculty this fall, said Gloria Payne, assistant director of parking.
Payne said the cost of a parking permit for staff and facutly members participating in the carpool is the same ($17.65 per month for regular spots and 24.70 for assured spots), but the cost would be split among the number of people in the carpool.
"I would hope people would consider ride-sharing not only for their own savings but to ease the parking demand," Payne said. "The staff and faculty have the same problems as the students. We hear the same complaints from staff and faculty members that there are not enough spots available to park
Fire causes $75,000
damage in Kerckhoff
Elise D' Haene, head resident of Community Housing, surveys the burnt ruins from Sunday night's fire at Kerckoff Apartments.
By Carmen Chandler
Assistant Qty Editor
A fire gutted one apartment and damaged two others in the Kerckhoff apartment complex early Sunday morning, causing approximately $75,000 in damage and forcing the temporary relocation of at least seven students.
One student was injured when he jumped through a plate glass window while escaping the flames. He suffered a sprained ankle and lacerations to his face, arms and legs from the two-story fall. He was taken to California Hospital where he was treated and released.
No one else was injured, although several students were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation at the scene.
Fortunately, only about 75 of the approximately 180 permanent residents of Kerckoff were in the building during the time of the blaze. Many of the residents were in Berkeley for the football game against the University of California.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
"Due to the extent of the damage it is difficult to determine the cause," said Fire Capt. Jerry Banckels of Station 15.
The fire broke out in the four-story Kerckhoff apartment complex, located on 27th Street, in apartment 102, at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning. University Security arrived at the scene by 3:32 a.m., two minutes before the fire department arrived, and immediately began evacuating the building, said Sgt. Hermine Aviles of University Security.
Aviles said the building's alarms were working and helped awake the residents.
However, Richard Scotti, a senior majoring in political science and international relations, said the alarms on the second residential floor were not working. He was staying in a friend's apartment on the second floor when the fire broke out.
"I woke up and faintly heard the alarms in the background, they sounded like they were coming from another building," Scotti said.
"We (Scotti and his friend) heard some banging coming down the hall to the room and my friend decided to get up and see what was
(Continued on page 6)
CHRIS ISLEIB/DAILY TROJAN
Security placed a fire line around student possessions destroyed in the fire while officials investigate the cause.