Rogers State University officials will break ground Oct. 3 for a new library facility that will double its current size and provide additional resources for its patrons.
The groundbreaking ceremony, which is open to the public, will be held at 10 a.m. at the site of the new library, adjacent to the Student Residence Hall.
“This ceremony will celebrate the construction of a facility that not only will provide much-needed room for properly housing our growing library collection, but it also will serve as a focal point for students and area residents wanting to investigate the world around them,” said RSU President Joe Wiley.
The $3.71 million library, funded through a 1999 legislative appropriation, is expected to be complete by the Spring 2004 semester.
The building will contain 45,000 square feet, with the library occupying 28,000 square feet on the building’s second and third floors. The first floor will contain classrooms and faculty offices.
The library will be built on the west side of RSU’s Claremore campus between the Student Residence Hall and Loshbaugh Hall. The current 14,000-square-foot facility is unable to accommodate the dramatic growth since RSU became a four-year institution in 2000. The library has added about 5,000 titles annually, and it now contains more than 50,000 books, 510 current periodical subscriptions, 4,150 videos, and 1,100 CDs.
Features planned for the new library include reading rooms on the second and third floors, expanded student seating and study areas, a classroom, campus and community meeting rooms, and consolidated offices for library staff. Another planned feature is a coffee bar adjacent to the reading room on the library’s main floor. This feature is intended to make the facility more user-friendly and encourage students and other patrons to fully explore the library resources.
The building was designed by Graber & Imel Architects of Tulsa, and the construction bid was awarded to Loerke Construction Group of Tulsa.