Seniors still call it “CLARC” and the Java Hut right outside is known as the “CLARC Cart.” On tours, Meridians have just recently stopped explaining that, “This is ITS, but everyone calls it CLARC.” This name change, however, is not a new one, nor is it the first. In the 1980s, the back of the library was known as “MIC,” Microcomputer Information Center and housed the reserve reading room and computing facilities.
Later that decade, in 1988, MIC morphed into CARL – the Computer and Reserve Library. The facility also changed. CARL included a listening center, the reserve desk, the reserve stacks, the reserve reading room, the public computing room, a Macintosh and IBM PC training room and staff offices. CARL, the infant of what is now ITS, was jointly administrated by the University Computing Center and River Campus Libraries.
As time progressed, technology advanced and so did CARL. In 1991, CARL changed into the Computing Library and Resources Center, or CLARC. When the Computing Library and Resources Center became the largest computer facility on campus, the Reserve Library migrated to the Circulation Desk, where it remains to this day.
As computers became a popular amenity, a help center was formed. In ’99, an information center developed in Taylor Hall. This early help center was run by students as it is today. Only a few years later, the help center was moved into CLARC and then given its own desk. Although the Help Desk was located in CLARC, three other offices and desks were scattered throughout the facility.
Shortly after the creation of the Help Desk, the four centers merged into the current central location and the Information Technology Services Center was born. Since this new beginning, ITS has continued to evolve. In the past year, they have added more computers, furniture and the “stop and go” computer wall. Each of these new additions receive ample attention – the couches suffice as beds for the all-nighters pulled in ITS and the computers along the wall are ideal for those waiting at the bus stop. The constant desire to improve and update the facility can only leave us guessing when and what the next name change will be.
Ricketts can be reached at aricketts@campustimes.org.
