Rattlers can look forward to using the new wing expansion on Coleman Library after returning from the holiday break.
Lauren B. Sapp, director of libraries at FAMU, said the expansion project should be finished by January.
“Of course that depends on good weather and a lot of other things,” she said of the tentative date.
This expansion has been discussed for more than 10 years.
After Coleman Library was renovated 14 years ago, the library administration knew that further changes would be necessary to provide satisfactory facilities and adequate learning materials for students.
“In 1989 when the second renovation was completed, we realized we didn’t have as much space as was needed, so we started then to request additional space,” Sapp said.
Administration then began to take necessary steps to ensure the library would undergo the needed expansion.
“In 1999, we began to plan for the building and then started to design the building,” Sapp said. “Then last year we started to construct the building.”
The new building will provide more area for students to interact while still providing space for students who want to concentrate on their work.
“We’re going to have more group study spaces, individual carrels, and open group study spaces,” Sapp said.
“One big thing is an instruction room that our librarians will use to instruct students in information literacy,” Sapp said.
News of the expansion has students like Deondra Mackey, a 22-year-old senior psychology student from Bartow, looking forward to the additional study room and added amenities.
“It’s a great experience knowing that there will be more resources for me to get my work done since I use the library a lot,” Mackey said.
Adriane Reddick, 20, a junior elementary education student from Greenville, is eager for the changes and hopes that in addition to books, more technology will be made available to students.
“I’d like to see more computers that work,” she said. “It’s hard to go in there now and find a computer that is up and running.”
Sapp is anticipating the completed project just as much as students.
“We have over three quarters of a million volumes, including bound periodicals in the library system and we have non-print materials in the media center,” she said.
“We’ll have more stack space so the collection can be spread out and easily accessible.”
Some, like Terrell Barnhart, a 22-year-old sophomore from Tallahassee, said the addition is a progress for the university, and that it will have a positive affect on the overall appearance of the campus.
“I would really like to have a chance to use it while I’m here,” he said. “I think it’ll look nicer.”
Sapp said she is confident that students, faculty and alumni will be pleased with the end product.
“I think everyone will be quite surprised and happy with the results.”