LSU took to its social media accounts on Friday, teasing renderings of what a new main library could look like.
Users were optioned to vote for two looks the new library could have. A third option gave users a protest vote, telling the university to go “back to the drawing board.”
Option B emerged the winner on X, formerly Twitter, securing 43% of the vote. Option A was preferred by 30% and the “back to the drawing board” option held 27% of the vote. On X, 3,067 votes were tallied. The poll closed after a day of being open.
Facebook users also preferred option B, with 588 users voting for it over the 315 users who voted for option A. A total of 903 users voted on Facebook.
LinkedIn users, broadly, preferred option A, with 576 votes toward it. Option B tallied 345 votes on LinkedIn. In total there were 921 votes.
On Facebook and LinkedIn, users didn’t have the option to vote outright for the “back to the drawing board” option. They were invited to leave comments. As of Saturday evening, the community has left nearly 800 comments spread across the three platforms. Across all three platforms, as of Saturday evening, over 4,500 votes had been cast.
Concerns that the new library would blend in with the existing infrastructure of the campus was far and away the community’s greatest concern.
History and future
LSU’s main library was built in 1959. It was called Middleton Library until 2020 when the Board of Supervisors voted to strip the library of Troy H. Middleton’s name citing the man’s opponent views on desegregation.
For years now, many students and faculty members have looked at the LSU Library as a blemish to what is an otherwise mostly delightful campus.
The standing library has succumbed to leaks necessitating tarps hanging over the bookshelves to protect the contents from water damage. Its basement housing collections and archives have also been prone to flooding.
LSU’s 2017 Master Plan outlines the complete removal of the current LSU Library as well as Lockett Hall. It proposes the library be moved closer to Tiger Stadium, near the intersection of South Stadium Drive and Field House Drive, approximately where the current Electrical Engineering Building is currently.
