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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 26, 2004 SOU library nears final stretch; parts already open to students By BILL CHOY Mail Tribune What a difference a year can make. This time last year, the Lenn and Dixie Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University was in the middle of a $23.5 renovation. The project, which began in March 2003, was designed to double library space and modernize existing library areas. The entire building was filled with the pounding of people at work and dust from the construction. Library workers and books were cramped into close quarters, and students had a limited amount of space for studying. Today, the project is more than 80 percent complete, with work expected to be finished by February. Even with work left to do, the library is airy and spacious with comfortable chairs, double the amount of shelving space and a coffee shop. Advertisement Brooke Aderonmu of Portland, an SOU sophomore, is very happy to see the changes. "It’s so much nicer than last year," she said. "It’s snazzy, new and shiny. ... "Before, it was so dusty, that when you picked up a book, it was covered with dust, and you’re like, ‘I need to wash my hands again.’ "I know of several people who had never gone to the library during construction and now they come here a lot and do their homework," Aderonmu added. "It just appeals to people more because it’s a nice place to come." Sue Burkholder, library director at SOU, said new portions of the second and third floors opened recently, with the library administration moving to new offices on the third floor. The expansion doubled the library space to 122,830 square feet. "It’s going very well," Burkholder said. "It’s been a lot of work and there has been some inconvenience, but the rewards are very high by having this wonderful building and space to come to work to each day. ... Everyone I talked to about it has been overwhelmed by this building, its facilities and its beauty." Burkholder said students can bring their laptop computers and do work throughout the library. There is new and expanded study hall space, and two additional classrooms with one that doubles as a distance-education class. There is also an 80-person meeting room, improved access for the disabled. An added bonus for those who cram for exams: Drinks from the coffee shop and elsewhere are now allowed in the library if they are in lidded containers. To Burkholder, the changes will help the university provide educational opportunities. "I believe in the impact of knowledge," she said. "We at the university support this and the library is the impetus of this. You want a place to bring people in and where they have resources of knowledge available to them. ... I think it symbolizes the kind of university we are and will continue to be." Approximately $20 million of the project’s cost came from the state, with the other $3.5 million provided through fund-raising. The building is named for longtime Ashland Sen. Lenn Hannon, who left office last year to take a job with the state parole board, and his wife, Dixie. Hannon was an ardent supporter of SOU in the Legislature and was instrumental in securing funding for the library project. Bill Choy is a reporter for the Mail Tribune and the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 482-3456. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s