(PRLEAP.COM) California State University, Dominguez Hills will put the first shovel in the ground for a $51 million expansion of its library during a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, Aug. 27, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
“ New modes of student learning will be supported by an extensive computer lab, computer classrooms and new group study rooms and individual carrels fully equipped with both wired and wireless network connections for personal computer... ”
This is the first significant capital improvement of the Leo F. Cain Library since it was built in 1970. When completed in 2009, the project will create a two-building complex poised to meet the needs of the entire campus, as well as ever-evolving technological demands, well into the 21st century.
“The CSUDH new library addition is a tremendous gift from the citizens of California,” said Library Dean Sandra Parham. “It will be a technologically advanced building that greatly enhances the library staff’s ability to improve the learning and research capabilities of Dominguez Hills’ students and faculty, as well as those of the community.”
The existing library building, for decades the most prominent structure on campus, outgrew its walls several years ago. Bookshelf space is at a premium and storage is limited. Study areas for students are cramped and there is no space for additional — and much needed — computer labs.
Expansion into a second building will more than double the current library space, which, Parham said, will greatly improve access to the library’s nearly half a million volumes and extensive offering of reference materials and provide for continued growth of the library’s technological resources.
“New modes of student learning will be supported by an extensive computer lab, computer classrooms and new group study rooms and individual carrels fully equipped with both wired and wireless network connections for personal computers,” Parham said of some of the features of the new building.
To be located between the current library and the campus gymnasium, the five-story, 140,000 square-foot building will afford additional room for book stacks, periodicals and other references, both physical and digital, expanded study/reading areas and “smart” classrooms, and 250 more computer workstations, as well as dedicated space for a gallery and event center, conference rooms and administrative offices. It will also become the new home of the university’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the Department of Archives and Special Collections, whose collection comprises not only the university’s archives but also the archives for the California State University system, several local history collections, the Glenn Anderson Congressional Collection, and, in the coming months, the Juanita Millender-McDonald Congressional Collection.
Project architect Carrier Johnson, the firm that also designed libraries for San José State, University of California, San Diego, and California State University, San Marcos, has fashioned an energy-efficient building that makes use of natural light—windows will dominate the north façade. Open-air glass bridges will connect the two buildings on the third and fourth floors, and a courtyard/garden patio on the second floor will offer students a natural, yet wireless, setting in which to study and socialize. S.J. Amoroso Construction Co., which built James L. Welch Hall and the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Student Union, will be contractor for this project, and O’Connor Construction Management Inc., which oversaw the Loker project, will be handling construction management once again.
The new library construction is being completely paid for by voter-approved bond initiatives. Those bonds could not be used toward the refurbishment and retrofitting of the existing library, something library officials will turn their focus on once this project is complete. The ongoing CSUDH Library Enhancement Campaign aims to raise enough money to renovate the old library and create a book and technology endowment.
For more information about the library expansion project, visit
www.library.csudh.edu/capitalfund/campaign. For a map of the campus, go to
www.csudh.edu/site/visitus/map.asp
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California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is The Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling. For more information, visit
www.csudh.edu.
