New HSE Library: The Biggest Yet and Open 24/7

When the reconstruction is completed, HSE University’s largest library branch yet is set to open on Pokrovsky Boulevard. Library Director Natalia Maximova spoke with HSE University Life about how this library will be different from others on HSE’s Moscow campus.

In September 2019, a new HSE library will open at 11 Pokrovsky Boulevard in the H2 building. It will be HSE University’s largest library.

The library will occupy three and a half floors and house 500 seats, which will include computer workstations for visitors working with the library’s electronic catalogue and other electronic resources. The library will be open to all campus members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The focus of the library’s reading room collection and its research journal subscriptions will be on publications in the sphere of socio-economics and related disciplines in both Russian and English languages. Library patrons will have open access to all literature housed by the library.

The students of several faculties will be able to check out textbooks: Faculty of Economic Sciences, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Communications, Media and Design, Faculty of Mathematics, and International Preparatory Programmes.

When planning the library premises, designers took into account the survey results of users as well as the design requirements of modern library spaces. The reading room will have designated work spaces both for individual and group work: there will be quiet zones and collaborative zones, as well as areas that can be reserved for events.

Entrance zones will be equipped with comfortable sofas, armchairs, and ottomans for comfortable reading and/or collaboration. Library employees will be stationed at easily-accessible desks, without partitions or other barriers that impede communication with visitors.

For individual work, visitors will be able to sit at round and rectangular tables with or without dividers, in high-backed chairs that absorb noise and allow them to lean back and read more comfortably. Portable office partitions will also be available so that visitors can create private working spaces for themselves.

This new library branch is dedicated to fostering a culture of research and informational inquiry at HSE University. It will offer Russian- and English-language consultations, master classes, informative events, as well as edutainment, such as scavenger hunts—all this will be available to library patrons so that they can quickly and efficiently find the information they need and complete a search query with confidence.

The new branch will embody everything that we associate with modern libraries: modern equipment and the latest technology in customer service.

Author: Viktoria Vedyashkina, July 12, 2019