Geisel Library

Iconic Library at the University of California, San Diego

Geisel Library is the main library building of the University of California, San Diego. It is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as children's author Dr. Seuss. The building's distinctive architecture, described as occupying "a fascinating nexus between brutalism and futurism", has resulted in its being featured in the UC San Diego logo and becoming the most recognizable building on campus. The library was designed by William Pereira and opened in 1970 as the Central Library. It was renovated in 1993 and rededicated as the University Library Building, and renamed Geisel Library in 1995. The UC San Diego Library consists of Geisel Library and the Sally T. WongAvery Library, with off campus locations at Scripps Archives and Library Annex, the Trade Street Storage Annex, and the UC Southern Regional Library Facility. Geisel Library is located in the center of the UC San Diego campus. It houses over 7 million volumes to support the educational and research objectives of the university. It also contains the Mandeville Special Collections and Archives, which houses the Dr. Seuss Collection, which contains original drawings, sketches, proofs, notebooks, manuscript drafts, books, audio and videotapes, photographs, and memorabilia.

In 1958, Roger Revelle's efforts to establish an Institute of Science and Engineering adjacent to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography were spearheaded by his desire to immediately construct a science and library building on the present Revelle College site. When the university was eventually constructed, university librarian Melvin Voigt devised a plan to purchase books for the three new UC campuses: UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Irvine. The first Science and Engineering Library in Urey Hall satisfied the science focused school's needs. However, as faculty recruits began to found social science and humanities departments, it became clear to Chancellor John Semple Galbraith that the time had come to establish the campus's main library collections. One of the conditions of Galbraith's acceptance of the UC San Diego chancellorship had been that UC San Diego would house one of the three great libraries of the UC system. To accomplish this end, he formed a committee which commissioned architect William L. Pereira to prepare a master plan for the University Center and its focal point, the Central Library. Pereira and his team, who were still retained as campus architects by UC Irvine, produced the plans and designs from their Urbanus Square facility in Irvine. Pereira's plan called for the University Center to be moved north and east, along with the proposed library building. This resulted in a revision of the campus long range development plan: the three "clusters" of four colleges each would be more compact, allowing for an auxiliary library in each cluster. The proposed building was designed around a spheroidal tower, to maximize the stacks area that could be accessed in a given time from the center. This tower was to be situated atop a main level containing the staff and public areas of the library. The chosen site allowed for future expansions to step downwards into the canyon. Construction of the first of three increments began in July 1968; the two main floors were constructed first to form the base of the structure. This allowed for the placement of scaffolding to support construction of the tower. The Central University Library building's topping out ceremony took place in December 1969 and its formal dedication was in March 1971. was able to support and represent the growing university for years. In 1990, construction began on a two story, 136,850 square foot subterranean expansion of the main level. The project included renovation of the existing facility to comply with safety standards and cost $38 million, provided by California's 1988 Proposition 78. The expansion, designed by Gunnar Birkerts, was completed in February 1993. In 1995, La Jolla resident Audrey Geisel donated $20 million to the UC San Diego Library, supplementing her 1991 donation of $2.3 million worth of her husband Theodor Seuss Geisel's original works. In exchange, the library was renamed Geisel Library. Between the first and second renovations of Geisel Library, several other UC San Diego library facilities were also renovated or closed. The biomedical library received a $17 million, 43,454 square foot expansion in 2006. In 2011, the SIO library, the IR/PS library, the Hillcrest Medical Center library, and the Center for Library Instruction and Computing Services (CLICS) were closed and their collections consolidated into Geisel Library due systemwide budget cuts. In 2015, university officials announced that Geisel Library would begin to undergo its second renovation. This renovation includes construction of a café named Audrey's on the main level of the library. Geisel Library's current name has come under increasing criticism over the last few years due to increasing awareness of Theodor Geisel's own expression of anti Blackness, Orientalism, and other racially charged beliefs through cartoons and other work that he produced throughout the majority of his career. Although Theodor Geisel did come to renounce his more racially offensive characterizations during an interview for his alma mater of Dartmouth College, there has been no official response by UC San Diego to students requesting a name change.

The distinctive original building was designed in the late 1960s by William Pereira to sit at the head of a canyon. The building's arches, in combination with the design of the individual floors, are intended to look like hands holding up a stack of books. William Pereira & Associates prepared a detailed report in 1969. Pereira originally conceived of a mushroom shaped, steel framed building, but the projected construction and maintenance costs forced him to switch to a reinforced concrete structure. This change of material presented an opportunity for a more sculptural design, as well as opening up interior spaces that would have been bisected by steel trusses. Prior to construction, a 1/2 scale model of one of the outer columns was built and subjected to various tests. It was envisioned that future additions to the original building would form terraced levels around the tower base descending into the canyon. In keeping with the original master plan, these are "deliberately designed to be subordinated to the strong, geometrical form of the existing library." Within its two subterranean levels are the other library sections as well as study spaces and computer labs. The building has been described by Architecture Daily as occupying "a fascinating nexus between brutalism and futurism". Its tower rises 8 stories to a height of 110 ft (33.5 m). The five upper stories of the tower house collections, individual study space, and group study rooms.

One unusual feature of the library is that the lower levels are numbered 1 and 2, and the upper floors numbered 4 to 8. That has given rise to several fanciful explanations for why the third floor is apparently sealed off and not accessible from elevators or steps. One of the more popular stories is that the building's design had not taken into account the eventual weight of books in the library, so the third floor has of necessity been left empty, a common urban legend, associated at different times with many other university libraries. In reality, the "missing" third floor is actually the open/outside forum. There is no other third floor, blocked off or otherwise. It is simply reinforced concrete and an emergency exit that helps students from the 4 8 floors get out without having to go to the second floor. The "third floor" is actually two separate levels. The third floor landings in the public stairwells open to the concrete platform outside the library which was originally intended to be used for sculpture displays, acoustic music, impromptu outdoor conversations, an open public meeting area and poetry readings. Potential theft of library materials and the risks attributed to the potential theft of UC San Diego's rare private collections of literature and art caused the doors to third floor to be protected, to be used only in emergencies or by building personnel to conduct the transfer of equipment to the central core directly to avoid disrupting library operations. The "second" third floor's landing is numbered as floor "3.5" and consists of utility connections and wiring to the upper levels. There are no accessways beyond the stairwell doors of floor 3.5; they are locked utility rooms, essentially for maintenance and repair. The doors to the 3rd floor open outwards from the stairwells, and the 3.5 floor doors open inwards towards the central core. The Central Forum, the 3rd floor, was originally intended to be a formal area of the library but outside the interior to avoid disturbing library patrons or library operations.

The 2011 consolidation of the UC San Diego Library resulted in Geisel Library and Sally T. WongAvery Library in the School of Medicine becoming the only remaining library buildings on campus. Additional library materials are located at the Trade Street Storage Annex on Miramar Road and the UC Southern Regional Library Facility at UCLA.