Today (28.06.2012) we have set the first step in the implementation of the planned renovation works at the Central Library. These works will definitely last until the autumn of 2013.
Some of those works will fully pass you. Others do have an impact on you and our service to you (as a customer).
Today the new 1600 kg weighing transformer was delivered. Which is intended for our new high-voltage cabin, the backbone for all subsequent electricity works. That is why the Binnenhof from today onwards (until 13/7) will be a yard zone and thus prohibited for unauthorized persons like you and me.
On Saturdays June 30th and July 7th there will be worked hard to swap the old transformer (of early 1950s; still 600 kg heavier than the new one) for the new one. During those 2 Saturdays our building will be totally without electricity. In the intervening week everything should continue to work.
In August 2012 the real renovation works will start in the stackrooms wing. They include:
- Making the spaces fire safe via new fire doors
- The replacement of the lighting, more energy efficient
- The replacement of the (obsolete) electricity network (early 1950s)
- The extension of the data network
These works are tackled floor per floor. There is counted on six weeks for each floor. And there are 10 floors. We work from bottom to top.
During these 6 weeks each floor is a yard zone and therefore a prohibited area for library staff. Books and magazines stacked on this floor cannot be delivered. To protect against dust and crushed stone the collections will be shielded.
This will be communicated clear and timely to the customers. The relevant items will be displayed in the catalogue as temporary-not-requestable.
There are concrete plans to replace the current reception desk - in the course of 2013 – into a (larger) reception centre on the ground floor. As a customer you will walk inwards through the desk area.
Finally, in the course of 2013, the Carillon tower will be developed into a tourist attraction, by the city of Leuven. They expect a multiple of the current number of tourists (10,000 per year) for this building.
All these works will undoubtedly cause annoyance. We try to minimize the nuisance. We are committed to inform you as soon as we have the necessary information.
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Insects enjoy nourishing themselves with books, manuscripts, photographs and other archive materials, sometimes with losses to your collections as a consequence. David Pinniger, a British entomologist, wrote a new and free online brochure for the Preservation Advisory Centre of The British Library. It is titled ‘Managing pests in paper-based collections’. It is intended as a tool of aid in identifying, preventing and suppressing insects that affect your paper collections. 
