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Library at LaGuardia Community College to Get $2 Million Makeover

By Jeanmarie Evelly | September 23, 2013 8:44am
 The school will get capital budget funds to expand and renovate its existing library.
LaGuardia Community College Library to Get Expansion
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LONG ISLAND CITY — LaGuardia Community College is turning the page on its old look.

The school will receive $2 million in capital budget money to renovate its library, LaGuardia officials announced alongside City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who secured the funding for the revamp.

"I was thrilled to be able to champion this project, and to fight for it every step of the way in this year’s budget process," Van Bramer said Thursday. "The students at LaGuardia Community College deserve the very best of everything."

The funds will go toward renovating the first floor of the library, which is located inside one of the campus' main buildings. The upgrades will include a new glass entranceway to open up the space, plus expanded circulation, reference and periodical areas.

The project will also create a new 16,000-square-foot "information commons," two new computer labs, four new open study rooms and a meeting room.

School staff said the library has been in its current space since 1992, when it was relocated from another spot on campus. It has not had a major renovation since then, according to chef librarian Jane Devine.

"It's been well-used...there have been many students who have studied here, who have written their research papers here, and have used our resources," she said.

The $2 million in upgrades is part of a larger renovation project which will expand the library onto the building's second floor, staff said.

Devine said the extra space and new facilities are needed to accomodate the school's growth.

"The college has been growing, but the library space has been kind of fixed," she said.

School staff said the renovations will be done in shifts, with the entire project expected to be complete in 2016.