Library Buildings around the World

The Library project won the Award of Honor in the Modernization Project category and the Science Complex won the Award of
Honor in the Growth Project category.
The coalition is made up of representatives of California community colleges, architects, engineers and contractors. The 2005 awards
were presented for the best in design for California community college projects.
The $23.6 million Library Modernization and Expansion project – which was completed in August 2003 – nearly doubled the size of
the facility to 96,500-square feet and provided widespread Internet access. In addition, the project included seismic retrofitting and a
redesign of the exterior, with landscaping, benches, lighting and more.
With three stories divided into five levels, the Library features plentiful skylights and atriums, giving the structure an open and airy
feel. The centerpiece is an elliptical wood-paneled “building-within-a-building,” flanked at the north end by a dramatic three-story
glass elevator tower.
The $30 million state-of-the art Science Complex – which opened in August 1999 – is a 98,000-square-foot facility made up of two
buildings separated by a courtyard but connected at the second floor. The gray-green-white building has many environmentally
sensitive features, as well as modern labs and classrooms.
The complex includes two 100-seat lecture halls, including built-ins such as infrared assisted-listening devices and computerized
control modules for the professor to display DVDs, CDs, and other media; labs ranging from plant propagation to instrument labs
and a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, one of only two at a community college. (http://www2.smc.edu)
Cogdell & Mendrala Architects, Savannah, Georgia - USA
http://www.cogdellmendrala.com
Libraries:
Zach S. Henderson Library, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia – USA 2008
•The expansion/renovation project began in summer 2004 and was completed in August 2008.
•The completed building is as large as a city block. The total square footage of the library is 235,000. A helpful feature is the color
coding of the carpet by floor: Green – first, Blue – second, Red – third, and Purple - fourth.
•The $22.75 million project added 101,000-square foot to the original building.
•The expanded building was designed more for people than for books.
•Floor to ceiling windows are featured throughout with seating at all the outer edges and the collections nearer the center.
•By the end of 2008, there will be more than 1900 seats and twenty-nine group study rooms available.
•The new Learning Commons (second floor) offers bright, flexible seating for group collaboration, faculty – student collaboration
and research, and multimedia creation and projection.
•The Automated Retrieval Collection (ARC) is currently capable of storing 800,000 items in 5,848 separate bins that are stacked 45
feet high is one of the most exciting features of the building.
•When the ARC is expanded to its full capacity the building will be large enough to house a collection of more than two million items.
•There will be more than 300 hard wired computers and wireless is available throughout the building.
•A welcome addition to the original building is the rear entrance that allows access from the parking lot.
•The library is open almost 24 x 7. During regular terms, it’s only closed from ten pm on Friday until 9:00 am on Saturday and from
10:00 pm on Saturday until noon on Sunday. See schedule.
•The striking three-story glass atrium with its virtual waterfall is a highlight of the eastern addition.
•The L shaped western addition features a cathedral ceiling on the third floor with impressive views from both the third and fourth
floors. (http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/building)
Ina Dillard Russell Library & Information Technology Center, Georgia College & State University,
Milledgeville, Georgia – USA 2005
see Holzman Moss
The existing facility consisted of an original building constructed in 1926 and expanded in 1965, which together totaled
approximately 45,000 sf.
The new two phase $15,000,000 project added a 100,000 sf addition and completely renovated the existing facility following the
Design-Bid-Build delivery method. The first phase consisted of a new three story addition. When the addition was completed, the
Library was able to relocate all of it staff, materials, and student functions from the existing facility into the new addition. The move
was coordinated with the semester break which created minimal disturbance to the University’s Library services. Once relocation
was complete in the new addition, the second phase involving the renovation of the existing facility began. When completed, a
partial move of certain temporary departments, went back into the existing building.
Features include a 24-hour student gathering/study zone with a cyber-cafe, graduate study lounge, group study rooms, electronic
classrooms, and additional reference areas. Complete access to the library’s computer labs are now available anywhere within the
complex. State-of-the-art technologies and high-density shelving contribute to the doubled capacity for collections and reader seats.
The Flannery O’Connor Memorial Room, a museum and archive dedicated to the author and Georgia College alumnus, is joined by
additional gallery spaces and an adjoining Education Room for museum-quality exhibitions and special campus events. (Cogdell)
Live Oak Public Library, Bull Street Branch, Savannah, Georgia – USA 2000
On 2002 Bull Street is, arguably, the oldest library within the Savannah city limits. The history of the entire Live Oak Libraries
system is closely linked with this particular branch. It was opened in November 1916, costing $104,041.78 to construct, the money
mostly coming from a Carnegie grant. Its 23, 000 item collection was brought from East Henry Street’s Carnegie Library, which had
previously served the local African-American community. For more information on the Carnegie
Library:www.liveoakpl.org/upload/LibraryHistoryLeMays.pdf
Designed by H. W. Witcover, the Bull Street library is a beautiful example of neoclassical architecture. In the following decades the
building went under several renovations. The first came in 1936 when the WPA (Works Progress Administration) added a small
wing for more book stacks and painted a Robin Hood mural in the Children’s Section.
In 1956, while there was no change to the building it self, it was renamed the Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Library. It served as the
single library building for all three counties, only aided by book mobiles that had routes through Effingham and Liberty Counties.
This service was discontinued December 31, 1944 due to a lack of funding.
Ten years later in 1966, a whole new addition, in the form of a nearby residence, was annexed to the building that doubled its size,
making it better able to handle the increased traffic after segregation had ended. A reading lounge and more room for the staff were
specifically designed, as well as more stack space.
In 1999, the building went through an overhaul. Restored to its prime, the building’s size was again doubled to almost 66,000 sq. ft.
It was painted in the very recognizable neoclassical style of Robert Adams, a famous Scottish architect, interior designer and
furniture designer. He was considered the leader of the first phase classical revival in 1790 in the United Kingdom, specifically
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