The original library was built in 1967 and more than doubled in size with an expansion in 1984. Beginning within the next month, construction will start to enlarge and renovate the building into a 鈥�21st Century Library that is more than a setting to access information,鈥� according to the plans guiding the project, adding that the library will play an active role 鈥渋n the process of knowledge creation.鈥�

鈥淲hen the library opened, services centered around the resources 鈥� mostly print 鈥� that were found using a card catalog. Services are now designed around the needs of the user, providing access to countless resources, print and electronic,鈥� said Meg Scharf, associate director for communication, assessment and public relations at 麻豆原创 Libraries.

鈥淭he John C. Hitt Library is evolving into an exciting and creative learning environment that fosters new knowledge. Students need space for collaborative work, as well as space that emphasizes individual research and reflection.鈥�

The project will be in three phases to serve the more than 63,000 students of the second-largest university in the nation.

The first part, which will add to the library鈥檚 footprint to the north of the current building toward the Student Union, consists of new construction for 113,000 square feet of space for the three-story automated-retrieval center; renovations to restrooms, elevators and fire sprinklers on the top four floors of the library; a redesign of the fifth-floor quiet reading room, and an increase in the number of needed power outlets for students to recharge phones and computers.

The work is expected to be completed by fall 2017, said Maria Teimouri, project manager in facilities planning and construction.

Phase 2 will add a connector building between the existing and new buildings, and Phase 3 will include a comprehensive renovation of the current library. Start dates for those parts of the project will be determined later. The retrieval system will be temporarily connected to the second floor of the library by a bridge until the connector building is completed.

When the project is complete, not all the library鈥檚 1.25 million volumes will be stored for retrieval by the new automated system. About 300,000 of the most current and heavily used volumes and those most suited to browsing will be kept on the open shelves. That includes some of the general collection, reference materials and other items.

Requests for other bound volumes will be made using the library鈥檚 online catalog. The items will be retrieved automatically and delivered to the circulation desk in five to 10 minutes.

The project is designed to improve service for users, who made nearly 1.26 million visits to the building during 2014-15. Many other users access the library鈥檚 services from home, classrooms and offices. The John C. Hitt Library contains the bulk of the university鈥檚 collection, currently at 1.3 million volumes. There are also about 144,000 e-books in the collection and another 231,000 materials in other university libraries.

“The expansion and renovations involved with the 21st Century Library project will provide 麻豆原创 students and faculty with new learning spaces, updated technology, and convenient access to resources necessary to continue to grow as an institution committed to collaborative research and academic excellence,” said Susan Quelly, an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and a member of the 麻豆原创 library advisory committee.

麻豆原创鈥檚 21st Century Library will feature:

Leah Morissette earned one of two honorable mentions and a $200 scholarship for her poster 鈥淚njection Techniques of Subcutaneous Anticoagulant Therapies鈥�. Dr. Kelly Allred was her faculty advisor.

The other students who presented their research posters were Britany Bowks, Suzeline Desir, Kayla Gayle-Campbell, Annabeth Huff, Lindsay Perna and Erica Thomas.

Additionally, two graduate students presented their research at the university鈥檚 Graduate Research Forum.

Dawn Turnage, who is expected to graduate in May with a Doctor of Nursing Practice, presented her DNP project, 鈥淎n Implementation Project to Improve Provider Review and Recommendation of Immunizations in Adult Patients with Psoriasis Receiving Biologic Therapy鈥� to the forum judges. Turnage is also on faculty as a nursing instructor. Dr. Christopher Blackwell served as the committee chair for Turnage鈥檚 DNP project.

Marion Bendixen, also expected to graduate in May with her Master of Science in nursing education, presented her poster, 鈥淭he Effect of Tongue-Tie Division on Breastfeeding Duration in Infants Ankyloglossia: An Integrated Literature Review鈥�. Dr. Susan Quelly served as her faculty advisor on her research.