Library transition update

By Heather You
The Collegian

Henry Madden Library is now almost completely void of books. The entire collection, over one million volumes, has been moved to an 80,000-square-foot warehouse just south of Fresno.

Construction began last summer on the new section of the library, and some changes to the building have since been made.

Students now must request a book either online or at the circulation desk, and student assistants working at the warehouse will retrieve the book. In most cases, students will have the book within 24 hours, but this limits students from browsing the stacks and looking at different books.

Some of the collections have remained in the library, including government documents, maps and the curriculum andjuvenile library, and some of the collections are also available for viewing by appointment only.

Also, because of the construction, library hours have been limited. It is no longer open until midnight on weekdays and is now closed on Saturdays.

Liberal studies senior Bao Moua said the limited hours have affected her study time.

“It would be nice if I could come here more on the weekends,” she said.

Another student said the new hours had not inconvenienced her.

Both students were studying Sunday near the new entrance of the library, the Solarium doors, just south of the old entrance.

Many of the offices and services in the library have also had to be relocated. The Services for Students with Disabilities will move to the old Carl’s Jr. building later this semester.

“We have until November to move,” said Charity Helmul, a history major who works for SSD. “The move will be hard on some of our blind students. Before, they could just enter the library, walk straight, and get to the office. Now, they have to navigate the Free Speech Area, where there is a lot of excess noise and people.”

While the move is only temporary, Helmul said it places an inconvenience on students.

“It’s hard not to be able to just go in the library, find a book, and check it out, especially for a history major like me,” Helmul says.

Overall, when the library is completed, it is expected be better organized and have much more space for the ever-expanding collection. The new wing was required to accommodate the more than 20,000 books the library acquires annually.

“All of the offices are still functioning, they have just had to be relocated,” Helmul said. Construction on the new wing is scheduled to be done by fall 2008.

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