UPDATE: 11:32 a.m.: The ISU Police Department tweeted that the item had been found to be nonexplosive. A further investigation will continue off campus.

UPDATE: 11:01 a.m.: Annette Hacker, director of ISU News Service, said that the State Fire Marshal Division is on scene.

Hacker said that Iowa State has not sent out an ISU Alert because the situation does not meet typical requirements for such an alert and it is not a threat to the whole campus.

UPDATE: 10:47 a.m.: Justin Pearson, sophomore in political science, said that the police presence around Parks Library and the Hub has doubled. The area that is blocked off has also doubled in size. Pearson said students may leave the east entrance of the library, but not the south side.

Darin Van Ryswyk, the investigations captain for the ISU Police, said the call came in around 8 a.m. from a student concerning a suspicious item.

“Officers took a look at it. … They decided to follow pretty cautious federal guidelines like set up a perimeter, call for assistance,” Van Ryswyk said. “It’s not a large item, it looks like a cylinder in a sock.”

Van Ryswyk said fire marshals have technical equipment that will help investigate the item without disturbing it. 

“It’s not a threat to campus, it’s a threat to a very small area, if it is real,” Van Ryswyk said.

UPDATE: 10:28 a.m.: Pearson was sitting outside with other students when ISU Police told all students who were outside to go inside of Parks Library.

“There are police now inside Parks Library and the front exit is blocked off,” Pearson said. “I’m not sure if we can go out other exits, but the front exit is closed off.” 

UPDATE 10:18 a.m.: Justin Pearson, sophomore in political science, said police began blocking off a trash compactor in between the Hub and Parks Library.

Pearson said police were directing students away from the sidewalk that the trash compactor was on, but students were still going in and out the side doors of the Hub.

The ISU Police posted a Facebook status Wednesday morning around 10 a.m., which said they were investigating a suspicious item found near the Hub and Parks Library.

Police have asked students to avoid the area until further notice. 

Check back with the Daily as the story develops.