Date: May 8, 2001
To: The Barnard Community
From: Barry Kaufman
Subject: Bowling Alley

Following upon recommendations for more academic and programmatic space from both the Task Force on Campus Life and the Steering Committee for the Middle States Self-Study, the College will permanently close the bowling alley in the basement of McIntosh this summer and convert the space into three rooms. These rooms will serve as both classroom spaces and meeting and program spaces in the student center.

During this past year, the bowling alley was closed to house the College's archives, while the basement of the library underwent renovation to create new archive space. Over the past four years, the bowling alley has been used, among other things, as a mailroom, a bookstore, and a distribution point for student purchased computers. Each of these uses has been important to the maintenance of services to the Barnard community.

It is important to note that the planned use of the space is viewed as a temporary solution to a long-standing problem. The College is preparing to commission a master plan study of its campus. The master plan will address the physical characteristics of the campus and programmatic configurations within each of its buildings. Until the study is finished and its recommendations can be implemented, the conversion of the bowling alley benefits all members of the Barnard community by meeting some of our most pressing space needs.