Clarkson students reimagine Potsdam library, wowing the lady in charge

POTSDAM — Clarkson University 3D design students have reimagined Potsdam Public Library for their latest project.

Their designs impressed library Director Patricia A. Musante so much that she hopes eventually to raise the money to renovate the space using some of the students' suggestions.

"It's a beautiful old building and the interior definitely needs some work, but of course we can't afford to do anything," she said. "But the designs are just spectacular. Now I look at the library and think, 'Ohhh.' It's like when you find the most gorgeous dress in the world and all of a sudden you look at your own clothes and think, 'Oh, if I could only get that.'"

David R. Beck, director of the digital arts and sciences program at Clarkson, asked the students in his 3D animation class to conceptualize a redesign of the Potsdam library and create images of what the space might look like if their project were chosen.

The students took measurements and used architectural blueprints of the library to figure out the dimensions of the space. They also took hundreds of pictures and visited other libraries in the area while they decided on their designs, Mr. Beck said.

"Potsdam is such a great resource for Clarkson and Clarkson is such a great resource for Potsdam," he said. "This is the kind of stuff that really makes me love teaching and working with students and living in a community like this."

Clarkson will hold a reception at the Potsdam Public Library from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday to showcase the students' designs, which will be presented as posters, architectural wire-frame models and rendered images. The students also will present 3D animations showing what their library design might look like if you flew through the space.

"Boy, when you see it in a picture like that rather than in a diagram, it's like, 'Oh, I have to have it,'" Mrs. Musante said. "It really made the dream come alive."

The students' designs run the gamut from frugal to fantastical, Mr. Beck said.

While one student concentrated on creating a project that would take the least funding and would use the same shelving, another uses a playful design inspired by poet Shel Silverstein's book "The Giving Tree." One "million-dollar" design incorporates modern curved shelving and an expansive circulation desk, while another echoes the library's neoclassical look with stately lines, Mr. Beck said.

Almost all of the students' plans incorporate second-story balconies or floors to use the library's high ceilings.

The professor required every student to include a circulation desk, shelving, reference and children's book sections, a reading area and room for the library's collection of DVDs, videotapes and books on CD in the plans. The space also had to be handicapped-accessible.

"I encouraged them to consider the history of the building, which was once a recital hall and used to be an armory to store munitions. Then, it was just a matter of taking their creative ideas and applying them to these minimum requirements," Mr. Beck said. "It was quite interesting, because the students all come from different backgrounds and they viewed the project in different ways."

The library will continue to display the students' images for several weeks, Mrs. Musante said. While the library doesn't have the money to pull off any of the redesigns now, she said she hopes the students' efforts will inspire others and help with fundraising or grant applications.

"We were so overjoyed when we saw the work they did," she said. "Wouldn't that be great (to do), if we could ever agree on one? We may have to combine a couple of these ideas someday."

Potsdam Public Library ranks second out of the 65 libraries in the North Country Library System in terms of circulation, behind Watertown's Flower Memorial Library. Ms. Musante said she plans to send the students' projects out to her colleagues at the other 64 libraries for them to be inspired, as she has been.

"This is not just about making something pretty; it's about showing that there's people in this community that care about the future of the library and think about all the possibilities that could happen," Mr. Beck said.