Grand Valley and community leaders symbolically broke ground September 21 for a new library that speakers called both a "game changer" and the "intellectual heart of campus."
A crowd of about 400 gathered to watch President Thomas J. Haas,
Provost Gayle R. Davis and others turn shovels of dirt and celebrate
the start of construction on the new Mary Idema Pew Library Learning
and Information Commons.
Davis said it may be surprising to some that in this information
age college students still need a library. "The more information
we're exposed to, the more we need training to use it critically and
use it well," she said. "When it opens, this library will
symbolize the intellectual heart of campus."
Kate Pew Wolters, chair of Grand Valley's Board of Trustees,
spoke on behalf of her family. The building is named for her mother.
She engaged the audience with a story about Mary Idema Pew, who
Wolters called a "rebel and a bit of a trailblazer."
Wolters also said supporting the library was important to her
family and she is proud to have it named for her mother. "My
father said this day is not about us, it's about Grand Valley. I agree
with that, but it is also about my mom and the legacy she
leaves," Wolters said.
The Pew Library will provide approximately 1,500 seats for
student study, 20 group study rooms, and offices and support areas for
faculty and staff members. There will be room for 150,000 books on
open shelves and 600,000 books in an automated storage/retrieval system.
Dan DeVos, a co-chair of the Shaping Our Future campaign, drew
laughter from the audience when he said the Pew Library will be quite
unlike his college library. He added that as an employer, he
understands the investment behind such a technologically advanced
library as it will help Grand Valley graduate top students who are
prepared to help rebuild West Michigan and the state.
DeVos also read a note from his father, Richard M. DeVos, who
apologized for his absence at the ceremony that kicked off the start
of constructing a library that will be a “game changer” and unique
among university libraries.
Jim Brooks, also a co-chair of the Shaping Our Future campaign,
stressed that fundraising for the building is not complete as $4.5
million is left to raise. "We're counting on continuing the
generosity of alumni and others who have supported this
campaign," he said.
Construction will begin in earnest this spring and the library
is expected to be completed in 2013. Visit
gvsu.edu/library/newbuilding to see design renderings, floor plans and
to take a virtual tour of the library.
