By Chelsey Leydecker//
Students have been eagerly awaiting the completion of the library renovations that started in January 2020.
While most renovations will conclude in November, the building won’t be accessible to students until January 2021 after the winter break.
Chuck Mann, the vice president for Finance, said that renovations have gone well despite some minor issues such as roof repairs and a broken air conditioning unit.
The first floor, previously consisting of the campus’ resource collections, will now be a learning commons floor.
“There’s a lot more open spaces for students to study,” Mann said. “A lot more casual seating options in that area.”
This includes a 50% increase in study seating, as described on the Hood College website. The atmosphere will also drastically change, having new glass walls on the south and east sides of the building.
A few of the new “study pods” will also be located on the learning commons floor.
“The study pods will be an area that basically has a glass wall that faces out into the lobby areas,” Mann said. “Then Inside will have tables and chairs, and all the technology so that students can go in there and they can study by themselves, or they can study with groups.”
This floor will also house the highly anticipated cafe, where students and faculty can purchase food and beverages. Additionally, the first floor will also contain a central help desk.
“I can’t wait to just go in there and hang out,” Mann said, expressing excitement for renovations and even comparing the atmosphere to Starbucks.
In general, the first floor will serve as an alternate place for the Hood community to get work done and Mann is hopeful that this space will further aid students in achieving academic success.
The second floor houses most of the study pods, a computer lab, and the archives/special collections. The boardroom is also located on this level, which will be used by the doctoral program on weekends.
“You’re not going to see any books, it’s not going to be the old-fashioned library,” Mann said of the first and second floors. “The collection of books has been condensed and moved primarily to the third floor.”
Along with the changes being made to the building, the name is also undergoing some slight changes. The building will now be known as the Hodson Library and Learning Commons, rather than The Beneficial-Hodson Library and Technology Center.
A flythrough of the building is on the Hood College website.
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