A great library contains the diary of the human race.

-- George Dawson

Pitt is planning to spend $52 million to repair Hillman Library, the largest of its 17 libraries and its flagship resource center. But if the university wants to chart a course toward academic excellence and national prominence, it should rethink the project and opt for replacement instead of renovation.

While the five-story structure, which opened in 1968, is not among the University of Pittsburgh's architectural gems, it gets heavy use by professors, students and other researchers at the Oakland campus. Even when the click of a mouse can put vast resources at one's fingertips, a first-rate library and the professionals who staff it are needed now more than ever to help inquisitive minds navigate competing sources of information.

Robert Pack, vice-provost for academic planning and resources management, said the revitalization of Hillman, which holds 1.9 million volumes and has seating for 1,539 students, is part of $1 billion in assorted capital modernizations that will move forward on campus over the next dozen years. The work on the library, however, won't commence for eight to 10 years, suggesting it has low priority and that Hillman is of little consequence.

Most of the money earmarked for the renovation will help replace various systems -- heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical lines and cables, information technology and telecommunications. The project will also remove asbestos and redesign the building's interior to better accommodate its collections.

All of that is necessary for a heavily used building that dates to the Johnson administration, but if Pitt wants to continue its upward climb, it should examine what it would cost to build a new library that will captivate prospective applicants and sharpen the university's competitive edge.

Recent data compiled by the Association of Research Libraries show that Pitt ranked 29th out of 113 university libraries in number of volumes, 28th in microform holdings, 28th in total expenditures and 14th for expenditures on e-materials. These rankings may be above average, but they're not nearly high enough to place the university among the nation's elite institutions.

Clearly under Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, Pitt has been striving to reach a higher plateau. That will be difficult to attain, however, without addressing the status and condition of Hillman Library -- and we're not talking thermostats and duct work.

Five years ago, Pitt opened the $119 million Petersen Events Center, a modern showcase for athletic and other events. The university has built new dormitories and new academic buildings. It is in the midst of a $2 billion capital campaign -- by its own description one of only eight fund drives of such size under way at American universities.

Amid this ambitious and enriched atmosphere, Hillman Library deserves better. The $52 million spent on repairs would make a good down payment on a new building that could become a 21st-century landmark for Pitt.

Those who built the Cathedral of Learning dreamed big, and today the university can revel in the attention it gets as one of the rising "public Ivies." But its leaders must keep this in mind: Harvard and Yale have great libraries. Pitt should, too.