Building groundbreaking set for April 27

Thu, April 18, 2002 |

Visions of a Center for Library and Information Resources at Valparaiso University will move a step closer to reality Saturday, April 27, with official groundbreaking ceremonies for the new building.

Ceremonies begin at 11:30 a.m. on the site west of the Chapel of the Resurrection and will be followed by a reception with light refreshments, including a special cake shaped like the new building. Members of the community are invited to attend the ceremony.

Sunday, April 28, a special worship service at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection also will celebrate the groundbreaking.

The groundbreaking ceremony was written by Dr. John Paul, W.C. Dickmeyer professor in Christian education, and carries messages about the characteristics of learning to be in evidence in the building: curiosity, discovery, collaboration, knowledge, epiphany and wisdom.

Sharing in turning ground to signify the start of construction will be VU President Dr. Alan Harre; David Hessler of Cleveland, Ohio, chair of the Board of Directors; Richard and Phyllis Duesenberg of St. Louis, co-chairs of the Three Goals, One Promise campaign that raised funds for the building; Richard AmRhein, University librarian; Dr. Michael Yohe, executive director of electronic information services; Ben Nicol of Fleetwood, Pa., student body president; Bruce Berner, Louis and Anna Seegers professor of law and chair of Faculty Senate; David Butterfield, mayor of Valparaiso; James Cline, assistant director, Porter County Public Libraries; Dr. Sandra Kinsella of Indianapolis, president, Alumni Association Board of Directors; and Judy Mason of Chicago, president of the Valparaiso University Guild.

Members of Soul Purpose, a student liturgical group, will serve as readers for the ceremony and other students are participating as banner carriers and in a trumpet ensemble.

The Valparaiso Community/University Concert Band and the VU Luce Concert Band under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Doebler, associate professor of music, will provide music.

Work on the new facility will begin this summer and will take approximately two years to complete.

The four-story, 115,000-square-foot facility will provide space for traditional library services as well as electronic information retrieval. The primary entrance will be on the north and the building will be linked to the University's Union building on the west.

Highlights include a high-tech tiered classroom, a computer lab, an automated book storage and retrieval system, a café and a Community Room suitable for use for a variety of functions.

The first floor will house a 60-seat computer lab, the Writing Center, the Electronic Information Services Help Desk, a media library, a small café and a large reading room. The circulation desk will be located on the second floor along with the reference area, training classrooms and a high-tech tiered classroom. In addition to the large Community Room on the north end of the building, there will be a smaller Heritage Room, a high-tech 30-seat conference room.

The third and fourth floors feature open book stacks, areas for rare books and the University archives, reading rooms and areas for group study. There also will be office space and a faculty study.

All study seats will have direct access to the University's computer network ports and computers will be grouped in clusters to facilitate collaborative learning.

Architectural firm for the project is Esherick, Homsey, Dodge and Davis of Chicago. Pepper Construction Co. of Indianapolis is supervising construction.

The $33 million project includes development of a recently completed campus entrance off U.S. Route 30, a road and a parking lot that will by used by contractors during construction of the CLIR. When the building is completed, the entrance and parking lot will be open to public traffic.