UMassBRUT to Host Symposium on Brutalist Libraries at UMass Boston on Oct. 24

UMassBRUT - an award-winning collaboration of faculty, staff and students from UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston and UMass Lowell - will host a symposium at UMass Boston on Oct. 24 to explore the significance, technical challenges, and future adaptation strategies of the modernist public library.

"The Brutalist Library: Rereading Its Legacy and Reimagining the Future" will feature three panels that will delve into the history and 50-year development of higher education libraries, including the the Du Bois Library at UMass Amherst, the Healy Library at UMass Boston, the Claire T. Carney Library at UMass Dartmouth and the O'Lear Library at UMass Lowell. All four campuses contain noteworthy examples of mid-century Brutalist concrete libraries and architecture by world renowned modernist architects, including Paul Rudolph, Marcel Breuer, Edward Durrell Stone, Harry Weese, Kevin Roche, and Hugh Stubbins.

A panel of historians, chaired by Timothy M. Rohan, UMass Amherst professor and chair of history of art and architecture, will provide context for the difference between the early 20th century libraries in New England designed by H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead and White, and the aims and new typologies of the post-World War II college campus libraries that were designed to accommodate growing campus enrollments and expanding collections of books and other materials.

A panel of UMass library deans, including Curtis Brundy, Dean of University Libraries at UMass Amherst, will explore the evolving role of libraries in the digital age, the myriad challenges faced by librarians in the 21st century and how the libraries have adapted to optimize space, conserve collections, and serve as a nexus for the campus community and the public.

Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, senior campus planner and architect at UMass Amherst, will also participate in a panel of architects that will explore technical challenges and innovative solutions for renovating iconic public libraries at UMass campuses as well as at SUNY Albany, University at Buffalo and the Boston Public Library.

The symposium will also offer tours of the UMass Boston campus and the Healy Library, as well as an open discussion between attendees and panelists.

To view the full schedule of events or to register for the symposium, visit https://www.umassBRUT.org.