Closed • Construction
begins at the library near Academic Services
and the Beach Hut. The Beach Hut is closed
during construction. Academic Services
will remain open to students during the
re-construction of the library. Stacy
Schwed / Summer Forty-Niner
Library
gets a much needed face-lift
By
Luis Testa
Summer Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Cal State Long Beach library begins its first stage of reconstruction,
which will include a Starbucks Internet cafe, new technology and a fresh
look.
The first floor and lower level of the library will be closed for the summer
due to the remodeling and renovation that is scheduled to last 18 months. Construction
on the east side of the library has also begun and is scheduled to last about
10 months.
Associate Vice President of Physical Planning & Facilities Management Scott
Charmack said the main library will take longer than the east side of the library
because it will remain open during construction and only two floors will be
remodeled at a time.
“It would have been a lot more convenient to close the building and do
the renovation,” Charmack said. “We could have done it quicker and
cheaper but you can’t close the library down. You just can’t.”
The first floor renovation includes a state-of-the-art computer and reference
facility for students, a Starbucks Internet cafe, which will give students
the capability to access the web wirelessly, a newly designed lobby and circulation
desk, and the renewal of carpet, lighting, the ceiling, and restrooms. Associate
librarian and project coordinator Tracey Mayfield said the first floor will
house an information commons with more than 200 computers and technical help.
“It will be nice to have a Starbucks,” said library assistant Larry
Stewart. “Though I will probably not be here to enjoy it, since I hope
to have graduated by then.”
The library’s first floor and lower level will be under construction
for approximately eight to nine months. All of the library services (with the
exception of Circulation) have been relocated.
One of the highlights of the construction is a new automated book retrieval
system, the Online Remote Collections Access, which could store books using
one-seventh of the space traditional book shelving methods use, Charmack said.
The system is the same book retrieval system that is used at California State
University Northridge, Sonoma State University and the University of Nevada
Las Vegas.
The second floor now supplies 24 30-minute computers with Internet access and
two printers. The third and fifth floors provide four 15-minute express stations,
and the fifth floor provides five for student use. These additional workstations
will be loaded with Microsoft Office software and connected to two printers
located on the second floor, Mayfield said.
“There is some inconvenience but the staff is doing their best,” Charmack
said. “Once the library is done I think that every on will love the way
it looks and how it will work.”
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