University Dedicates Downtown Campus Library

     A West Virginia University student told an audience of more than 250 people gathered for the April 10 dedication of Downtown Campus Library that she and her peers have staked their claim to the new building.

     "I've seen the use of the library increase from opening day, and it's still on the rise," Claire Houston told an audience of more than 250 people. "Students are taking advantage of our new facility, and it has become a meeting place for students to study alone and in groups."

     The sophomore spoke to a packed house assembled in the atrium connecting the new library to the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library. Her words and image were also digitally broadcasted to computer screens throughout the five-floor 124,000-thousand-square-foot building.

     The 180 computers are just part of the offerings that help make research a much easier and more pleasant task. There are 15 group study rooms and five media viewing rooms that enable students to meet in groups to study or work on projects.

     The reference desk greets users when they pass through the Alumni Lobby. Books have been relocated from the crowded stacks to rows of shelves on the open and well-lighted floors of the new library.

     "It is no longer a scavenger hunt for a book or a free computer," Houston said. "The 10-floor maze of books is nothing but a memory to us."

     The dedication was a homecoming for alumna Nancy Davenport, who is director of acquisitions at the Library of Congress. She got her start as a student worker in Wise Library during her time at WVU.

     She admitted to being in awe several times during her tour of the Downtown Campus Library.

     "The students of West Virginia University have a great gift that was given to them by you and by the people of West Virginia," Davenport said. "This is a state-of-the-art facility. It is spectacular."

WVU Dean Frances O'Brien accepted the accolades with a broad smile, encouraging visitors to explore the new building to learn for themselves the resources available for users.      "We are here to appreciate the coming together, the joining of forces with our traditional library collections, our strong philosophy of excellent library public service, and the best of new technology resources," O'Brien said.      WVU President David C. Hardesty drew the audience back to April 10, 1902, as the WVU Board of Regents accepted the newly completed University Library in what is now Stewart Hall.

WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr., Libraries' Dean Frances O'Brien, Provost Gerald Lang and WVU Board of Governors Chair Vaughn Kiger unveil the plaque for the Downtown Campus Library.

     In 1902, the University moved the library from a single room to its own building to better serve students in the 20th century. Likewise, the new Downtown Campus Library is ready to lead the University through 21st century.

     "Today, we are here to renew the University's commitment to meeting the informational needs of this century's students and to say proudly to the nation at large: 'We will be an academic institution to be reckoned with,' " Hardesty said.

     For more information about the dedication: www.libraries.wvu.edu/dedication

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