Library At Stanislaus State Closing For At Least Two Years
TURLOCK (CBS13) - The campus library at Stanislaus State in Turlock is closing its doors soon after students finish their finals this spring.
The structure is getting a complete makeover to provide more space as the university experiences a growth.
Right now, the library has room for 620 students. After the renovation is complete, the building will be able to accommodate more than one thousand people.
California State University, Stanislaus student David Aguilar is one of the hundreds of students who use the Vasche Library every day. It's one of the oldest buildings on campus.
"I usually come here about an hour at least a day to study. They are really good, coming in as a freshman I didn't know anything and so they were really helpful for everything I need it," he said.
School leaders say renovations of the 53-year-old building could take up to two years to complete.
"We have a growing student population, and every season when we have midterms and finals, students are scrambling to find a space to talk together or they are trying to find a space where it's quiet and study," said Ron Rodriguez, dean of library services.
The renovation is expected to cost Stan State $50 million. Leaders with the project say 8 percent of the library's print materials will remain on campus during construction. The rest will be stored off campus.
"We will be relying on inter-library loan. We have a system within the Cal-State that is called CSU Plus and CSU Plus will provide the books to the campus here by daily deliveries and we expect a one, two or possibly a three-day delivery turn around," he said.
Feedback gathered at open campus sessions and surveys in 2017 helped with the library's design, which includes a 24-hour study area, a café, and more room for group study and quiet zones.
Even the way the books will be laid out will be different.
"We're gaining a lot of space with the new type of shelving, it's going to be browse-able electronic bookshelves and so we're gaining a lot of student study space so the efficacy of that storage," said Melody Maffei, California State University Stanislaus.
The goal is to have the library up and running and ready for students to use by the fall of 2021.