The expansion and renovation of Hofheimer Library is one of the main focuses of the vision of Virginia Wesleyan College.
One of the original buildings on campus, Hofheimer Library opened in 1969, and has had no major renovations in the decades since. The planned changes will be the first renovation in the library's history.
"The history of the building is interesting," said Jan Pace, library director. "In '69 we opened, and at that time nearly all the administrative offices and most of the faculty offices were located here in the library. There were even some classrooms. As the library has grown in its own resources and new buildings have appeared on campus to support the administration and academics, those people in the library moved out and we took over the entire building as opposed to the 1/3 and 2/3 we had been consigned to over the years."
The main goal of the plans is to make the area a more comfortable study space and to meet the needs of the students. A 24-hour study lounge will be created, possibly in a caf� setting, that will be accessible seven days a week and will serve as an informal gathering spot for students and faculty and a convenient space to check e-mail, have coffee, read, work on group projects and relax between classes.
"We understand that students really need a place on campus to study 24 hours a day," Pace said. "That is the number one priority of the modernization: to create a 24- hour study space. Students may need to get away from a roommate or the loud music that is keeping them from completing the reading they need to complete."
A technology classroom will also be added with teaching equipment and computers for each student. Also in the plans are three team study rooms, one board-room style seminar room and two computer classes that can be combined into one larger room.
"We want to make it comfortable for students," said Phillip Perdue, associate vice president for College Advancement. But the plans are not just about upgrades in atmosphere. "This is not a cosmetic renovation. The goal is to make the collection a valuable resource."
Shelving will be added to accommodate the 50,000 new volumes that will be added to enhance the book collection, as cited necessary by 76 percent of the faculty in a recent survey.
"We have identified 86,000 best books for academic libraries and will be selecting from that core of essential volumes," Perdue said.
"To this date," Pace said, "faculty have already purchased over 1,500 titles as a part of the campaign to enhance the core liberal arts collection to supplement their classes or in general to support undergraduate research, because that is also one of the things we want to promote in shooting for the Phi Beta Kappa charter."
New floor space will take shape under a second-floor overhang without enlarging the building's existing blueprint.
Other fundamental upgrades to the library facilities include: improved lighting, installation of climate control systems appropriate for library and archival preservation, upgraded wiring, replacement of skylights, painting and replaced carpeting.
"We've met with architects, talked to colleagues around the country, visited libraries around the country and identified the spaces libraries around the country are providing students," Pace said."Collaborative learning spaces, spaces to talk with faculty and work on projects, more and different and more comfortable study areas, extended shelving for the influx of wonderful new volumes. these are some of the visions we have."