As you read this, hundreds of thousands of volumes and other items are making the short trip to the former Verizon toll building on W. Ninth St., a first step in the two-year renovation project that will transform the Nash Library into a technologically sophisticated and user-friendly learning commons.
The project will include dramatic new entrances on W. Sixth and Seventh streets, 29 new study rooms, a green roof, a computer lab and the STEM and Writing Centers. Glass will abound to fill the space with natural light and students needing extra energy for long study sessions will be happy to find a first-floor coffee shop.
It’s a bold design that gives everyone in the Gannon University community a lot to look forward to, but on the occasion of a farewell party for the venerable structure, library director Ken Brundage chose to look back—or rather—look down.
He pointed out the carpet, a vibrant orange shade that’s been out of style for years. “It’s the original carpet,” he pointed out, “and you can’t find a threadbare spot on it after 42 years and thousands of students walking on it. This orange carpet is a manifestation of the permanence not only of the Nash Library, but of the place of libraries in the academy.”
Completion of the renovated library is expected by January 2018.