Renovations and upgrades to Alden Library approved at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting may take years to complete, with current students seeing only some of their benefits.
The $4.56 million renovation will be funded through various resources up until the project’s completion, which is estimated for sometime in 2019. State appropriations, debt and money the library has in reserve will all contribute to the financing of the changes.
One of these changes will be replacing structural equipment, totaling $1.86 million. A majority of that money, $1.75 million, is pulled from state appropriations. The remaining $0.11 million is going to be added from library reserves.
“The renovations will allow the (library) to offer a greater variety of flexible student spaces, including additional 24-hour space and more deep quiet areas, but the majority of funding will be spent to improve Alden's infrastructure, including our air conditioning, plumbing and electrical availability,” said Kelly Broughton, assistant dean for Research & Education Services.
The library’s air conditioning will be upgraded and its restrooms expanded. The air conditioning fix is sure to please students, who often complain of uncomfortable temperatures in the library. And while the library’s second floor was already open for 24 hour use, this project allots a bigger area of the building for overnight usage.
In addition to these alterations, the board approved $100,000 to move the Academic Advancement Center to Alden’s second floor Learning Commons area, and also expanding bathrooms and electrical capacity on the fourth floor. The total project cost is estimated at $2.7 million. $2.4 million of this project is funded from debt and $300,000 from library reserves.
“The renovations will be accomplished in a series of phases between now and 2019 without closing Alden Library to the students,” said Broughton. “The first phase will include significant improvements to restroom facilities on the 4th floor, which will allow us to increase our space available over night, something students have been asking us to do.”
Broughton said this phase is important because it opens up area for the advancement center to be moved. “That phase will also include relocating the Academic Advancement Center from the first floor to the second floor Learning Commons, significantly improving student access to those services and co-locating them with the Writing Center and research support services.
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