The yellow, orange and black carpeting that has mesmerized students for almost three decades is being removed from the first floor of Founder’s Memorial Library.

“It has a color pattern that is far from pleasing to many eyes,” said Arthur Young, University Libraries Dean.

The new carpeting will be far less psychedelic than the last. The new carpet color will be a medium gray color with a blue hue, Young said.

The bright carpeting is definitely something that seems to stick with students.

When NIU alumni are asked what they remember the most, No. 1 is Altgeld Hall, No. 2 is the lagoon and No. 3 is the carpeting in the library, Young said.

Many students wonder why they chose such bright colors to cover the floor of the library.

Many times small swatches of carpet may look all right, but when you roll out 60,000 square feet it looks very different, said Glen Gildemeister, director of the university’s regional history center.

“I can only echo the haiku with everyone else,” he said. “What were they thinking?”

Besides the carpeting’s old age and unique colors, it likewise did not have any padding. Carpeting without padding isn’t as comfortable to walk on, Young said. The new carpeting has padding, and is also cut in flat squares, making it easier to replace.

They started on the carpeting about six days ago, Young said. The whole process should take about six to eight weeks to complete. The funds to pay for the new carpeting came from the library, provost office and the physical plant.

“We waited for a good deal for the carpeting,” Young said. It will cost about $50,000 to $55,000 to replace the carpeting.

The installation is not interfering with the student use of the library, Young said. He said small sections of the library are being worked one at a time.

Junior biology major Christina Hensel said the carpeting’s bumblebee colors can be a little distracting, among other things.

“I think it’s really outdated, kind of ’70s style,” Hensel said.

Founder’s Memorial Library opened 28 years ago on January 10, 1977.