CSUCI library on track for February opening
Designed by Sir Norman Foster, building will become campus landmark
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Photo courtesy of CSU Channel Islands SIGNATURE BUILDING- Construction continues on the John Spoor Broome Library at California State University Channel Islands. University officials say the $60-million library designed by Sir Norman Foster will be completed by early January.

Sunlight pours through the library's glass walls and steepled roof, infusing the cavernous shell of the new $60-million building with a soft, natural light perfect for reading.

Crews with Canada-based PCL Construction continue to work on the John Spoor Broome Library at California State University Channel Islands in preparation for its February opening. Construction began on the library in October 2005.

University library dean Paul Adalian said work on the 137,000-square-foot library designed by world-renowned architect Sir Norman Foster is on schedule and on budget.

Foster is best known for his ultramodern industrial designs that bring together steel and glass to create futuristic facades intended to take advantage of natural light.

Once completed, CSUCI officials expect the state-of-the-art library will become the signature building for the fiveyearold university.

In preparation for the library's April 4 ribbon-cutting, Adalian said, the university will begin moving books in late December from the university's old library into the new building.

Adalian said the library houses approximately 75,000 bound books and 200,000 digital books.

The university, he said, has received $80,000 to $150,000 a year since 2002 for new books. He said funding comes from a "mixed bag" of sources, including donations and the money from the California State Lottery.

Furniture and computers for the library have been purchased and are slated for delivery by late December.

The old library- less than 9,000 square-feet- will be converted into the new student union as part of the university's $84-million plan to upgrade the campus' aging buildings.

The university was initially promised $62 million in state bond money to improve its infrastructure, but recently received an additional $22 million from the state to pay for the new entrance road to the campus.

Adalian said the university is taking advantage of its small student population by purchasing more than 30,000 digital images from Saskia Ltd., a Maine-based company that sells digital pictures of original artwork from major metropolitan museums and universities throughout the world.

Because Saskia sells their digital images based on a university's enrollment numbers, Adalian said, the university bought a bulk of its digital archive in 2002 when enrollment was below 500 students.

"We have things here that UCLA could never hope to buy or (California State University) Northridge because it's too expensive," Adalian said.

The university now has the largest digital archive in the 23campus California State University system.

"It's very rich in content and very rich in digital format so that it's very detailed," Adalian said of the digital archive of paintings, sculptures and other artwork. "You can see brush marks."

Without a theater or major venue yet on campus, the library is used by a number of campus organizations for plays, poetry readings and other events.

In the spring, the library hosts the Children's Reading Celebration and Young Author's Fair. The daylong event includes children's story readings by CSUCI students and various art projects and activities.