The library of Graz University in Austria, perhaps not unlike Brandon University’s in the near future. (Dr. Marcus Gossler / Google Images Common)
The plans to expand the John E. Robbins Library will start a few weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to a grant that Brandon University has received from the Federal Government. Within the next week, Brandon University will have another $15.5 million dollars to put towards the $34.6-million-dollar project. For those of you reading who are unfamiliar with the library expansion project, here is a quick breakdown of what will be changing.
The building will be expanded into the parking lot on the east side. No need to worry about losing precious parking space, though: a new lot is going to be put in just down the road. Furthermore, all the washrooms will be renovated, and new windows will be going in on the south side. The old study carrels will be replaced, and wiring, fire alarms, and sprinklers will be updated. More water fountains will be installed (including more bottle-fillers, like the ones in the HLC), and we will also receive new computers, as well as new printers and copies, of which there will be one on each floor.
A third floor will be added in the summer months, which will include a large quiet-zone study space, and three medium-sized study rooms for group work and seminars. The computer lab on the first floor will be moved to the second, and the old lab room will be turned into a kid-friendly space for parents on campus to bring their little ones. Best of all, this grant will allow an expansion of all subjects, meaning roughly 10,000 new books to fill the shelves!
Construction completion is currently estimated at about a year, with another six to seven months afterwards before the new furniture and computers will be ready. The expansion will start the first or second week in May, with the new third floor going in first, followed by everything else! Who else can’t wait to see these new computers and study areas?
Republished from The Quill print edition, Volume 103, Issue 27, April 2, 2013.