La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Campaign for the 8o ' s Phase II marches on By Richard R. O ' Brien The new La Salle University Library, presently being constructed on the southwest corner of 20th Street ana Olney Avenue, is expected to be completed in February or March of 1988. Its arrival will thrust La Salle into the age of technology and aid in the provision of a better education for present and incoming La Salle students. When La Salle received an initial donation of $2.5 million, three plans for a new library were considered. Technology Forges New Concept for the Library constructed in 1952 when the college had an undergraduate enrollment of 1,050 full-time students ana 1,020 part-time stuaents. With a planned life expectancy of approximately twenty years, it has served the school for almost thirty-five. The Wister Hall Annex was added in 1973 to provide more volume space. Although the two facilities house almost 210,000 volumes, a larger library is needed to accomodate La The ground breaking ceremonies took place June 9, 1986. Because the school designated a new library as top priority, the donor, who later contributed an additional $8.5 million in the fall of 1985, approved the proposed use of funds. La Salle ' s present library facilities are housed in two separate buildings on campus. The David Leo Lawrence Library was Salle ' s growing enrollment. The Library Building Committee (LBC), established in January of 1985, met seven times during the summer of 1985 with Brother President Patrick Ellis and other administrators to review the presentations of prospective architects an d construction firms. The The design for the New Library showing the east elevation. Presiaent and Provost Bro. Emery Mollenhauer, following consultation with representatives of the University and the LBC, chose the highly regarded architectural firm of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott of Boston, Massachusetts. The firm has had a distinguished list of commissions, including libraries at Harvara, Cornell, and Dartmouth. Nason and Cullen, Inc., of Rosemont, PA, was appointed as the construction firm. The LBC also made visits to three college libraries (Widener, Drexel, and Lehigh) to assess the strengths of their newly built libraries. The visits provided the staff with insight concerning features that have been implemented at these institutions. With all the planning stages completed, groundbreaking ceremonies were held on June 9, 1986, and Nason and Cullen began construction in early September. Decisions to be made during construction will be the responsibility of administrators working directly with the architects and the manager of Nason and Cullen. The new library will have the capacity for 500,000 volumes, compared to the present limit of 150,000 volumes at the Lawrence Library. The 105,000 square foot structure will contain three floors and have a seating capacity of 1,250 students. The combined seating of the present two facilities is listed at 600. The new facility will feature the Library of Congress Classification system (replacing the Dewey Decimal system), ' an automatic card catalogue, computer terminals, twelve group study rooms, and a large classroom complete with a television projection system. The first floor will contain the Reference Department, Current Periodicals, the Inter- Library Loan Office, and two rooms with personal computers. The second floor wili serve as home for the