It’s official! Salem State University (Salem, MA) broke ground for its new library and learning commons on December 7. University president Patricia Maguire Meservey and Jacob Segal, chair of the university’s board of trustees, were joined by local political leaders and top state education officials in a ceremony on the university’s north campus.

The 124,000 square foot facility replaces the previous campus library, which was closed in late 2007 for concerns about its structural safety. The four-story library will include instructional labs, group study rooms, and a testing center, and ...[more]

LAS CRUCES, NM – Following the completion of its two-year renovation and expansion, New Mexico State University’s College of Education marked the re-opening of O’Donnell Hall with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration today.

Home to the College of Education since 1968, O’Donnell Hall was given a new and vibrant identity with the addition of a three-story wing, a new entry, additional classrooms, and an infusion of natural light. Michael Morehead, the College’s interim dean, called it “a magnificent building and… a place where future educators can learn and ...[more]

Colgate University’s newly completed Case Library and the Carol Grotnes Belk Library at Appalachian State University were among the projects selected for inclusion in the Architectural Showcase in the April issue of American Libraries, the monthly publication of the American Library Association.

The Case Library, which bridges Colgate’s upper and lower campuses, comprises a 101,000 sf renovation and 51,000 sf addition. The dynamic space includes a café, 24-hour study areas, and videoconferencing and multimedia production facilities.

The prominent tower of the 210,000 sf Belk Library is a campus landmark for Appalachian State’s Boone, NC, campus. The building’s design capitalizes on the University’s unique location with daylit reading spaces offering mountain vistas.

BOSTON, MA — The new, 55,000 s.f. Zorn Dining Commons, which was completed in October 2005, can accommodate 900 students, features a marketplace servery with five major stations, a faculty dining room with its own servery, a “grab & go” with a separate entrance, a production kitchen that can handle campus wide catering, administrative offices and a small meeting room. The large dining hall can be partitioned off to allow 400-person events apart from and during the daily use of the facility.

Major design goals are to develop an exterior, multiuse space between the Student Commons and the Zorn Dining Commons that will draw students to the entrance of the Dining ...[more]

The construction of the Library and Learning Commons at Salem State University marked a major milestone today, as the structure was topped off with the last steel beam put in place. In keeping with tradition, an American flag (right) was hoisted to the top of the building, accompanied by a small tree.

The 122,000 s.f. library project is pursuing a minimum of LEED Silver certification. The firm’s other LEED certified university projects include Marquette Law School; additions to Perkins Library at Duke University; and Duke Library at Furman. Shepley Bulfinch also ...[more]

Four of Shepley Bulfinch’s academic library clients topped the rankings for “Best College Library” in the 2010 Princeton Review survey of students at 373 top US colleges and universities. The four current or recent clients are Harvard (#1); Duke (#2); Princeton (#3), and Colgate (#4). In addition, Furman University, where the firm completed the 2004 LEED Gold Duke Library addition and renovation, was ranked #12.

Rankings were determined by responses from over 122,000 students to the survey question “How do you rate your school’s library facilities?”.

Colgate also came in ...[more]

PHOENIX, AZ – The renovation and addition of O’Donnell Hall, home to New Mexico State University’s School of Education, was named “Best of 2009 New Mexico” by Southwest Contractor magazine. The annual competition, now in its 12th year, recognizes design and construction excellence in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.

Project teams will be honored at an awards ceremony in Albuquerque December 8. O’Donnell Hall will also be among the winning projects profiled in the December 2008 issue of the magazine.

At O’Donnell Hall’s September 2008 dedication, Michael Morehead, the College’s interim dean, called it “a magnificent building and… a place where future educators can learn and thrive in a tremendous facility”. He ...[more]

NEW HAVEN, CT – The construction of a 135,000 sf addition to Buley Library has been completed, marking a significant milestone in the renovation and expansion project for Southern Connecticut State University. Offices and books have been moved into the new wing so that the renovation of the existing 98,000 sf portion of the facility can begin. The entire project, which will transform the library into the intellectual hub of this commuter campus, is scheduled to be finished in 2010.

The renovation and addition will more than double the library’s size and quadruple overall seating capacity to about 1,600 seats, with an atrium connecting the addition and the original building. The ...[more]