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| Q:
How long will the construction take?
A: The project
began in June 2002 and will take a little over two years. The new wing opened in Fall 2003. The renovation of the existing parts of the library will be
completed by Fall Term 2004. |
| Q:
What exactly are they doing?
A: The first phase
was construction of the new Charlie Peace Wing, which will be almost the
size of the existing library. This wing starts at the back wall of
the original library and goes out towards the lake. When this was completed
in the fall of 2003, all library resources moved into the new
wing so that the older parts of the library can be completely renovated.
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| Q:
Will the library stay open during construction?
A: Yes. The library
will be open regular hours during the academic year. It will be closed
for a short time during summer 2004 when large collections
and offices are being moved from their temporary locations in the new wing into the renovated original library building.
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| Q:
Does noise from construction interfere with studying?
A: Somewhat, but not
too much. Construction is inherently loud, so there are times when
parts of the library will be pretty noisy. The good news is that the construction
ends most days around 4:30 and there is usually no construction on weekends.
If you study in the evening as most students usually do, it won't disturb
you at all. Likewise, if you use the library on the weekends as most continuing
education and graduate students do, it won't disturb you at all. If you
want to study on weekdays before 4:30, you might want to try the reading areas facing the lake, which are the farthest
from construction.
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| Q:
Were students involved in planning the library expansion?
A: Yes. The original
planning was done by the Library Task Force 2000 which included four students,
David Coe, Hal Frampton, Brink Hinson, and Julie Jones, as well as librarians,
faculty members, and others. As plans developed, they were presented at
a series of three open forums to solicit student feedback.
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| Q:
Is the library being expanded to make more room for books, students, or
technology?
A: Yes, yes, and yes.
The expansion will double the capacity of the library from 400,000 to
over 800,000 volumes. It will increase the amount of research and study
space available to students and faculty from about 300 seats to over 900
seats in a variety of settings, including over 25 group study rooms. The
expanded library will also include a new Multimedia Computing Commons,
which will be the largest computing facility on campus, in addition to
the Research Computing area and the Center for Collaborative Learning
and Communication.
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| Q:
When the library is finished, will it be open 24 hours a day?
A: Part of it will.
The expanded library will include a 40 seat Study Lounge that will be
open 24 hours a day. This area will include computers and drink and snack
machines. It will have card access outside of the library's normal 101
hours a week of operation.
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If you have any questions not addressed in this FAQ, e-mail John Payne at john.payne@furman.edu. |
