From the issue dated January 11, 2002
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Nova Southeastern U. Shares Its New LibraryBy SCOTT CARLSONNova Southeastern University is celebrating the opening of a five-story, 325,000-square-foot library with an unusual genesis: Half of the building's $45-million construction cost was covered by Broward County, Fla., the county in which the university is located. The building will operate both as an academic facility and as a public library. "To our knowledge, it is the only such facility where there's been a collaboration between an independent, not-for-profit university and a public body," said Ray Ferrero Jr., president of the university. In 1999, San Jose State University agreed with the City of San Jose to build a $177-million library serving both the campus and the city. That project will be finished in 2003. Under the agreement in Florida, Nova Southeastern retains ownership of the building and oversees the employment of the staff. For the first four years of the library's operation, the county will contribute 40 percent of the operating costs. In the fourth year, the library will electronically tally the number and types of users entering the building -- general public versus students -- and apportion the operating costs accordingly. But the county will never pay more than 50 percent or less than 40 percent of the operating costs. Mr. Ferrero says the county paid for the library out of a general fund and did not raise taxes for building. "Some of my colleagues in the state are pretty excited about it because they are in the midst of trying to do a library project, and if you can get help from another source, it would be a major plus," he added. The public will have access to all of the materials in the library, which will be open 20 more hours each week than many other public library branches in the county. The university will also reserve half of an adjoining 1,500-space parking facility for the public. The library eventually will contain 1.4 million volumes -- including children's and young-adult sections -- along with a host of electronic databases. The library will also feature wireless access, a cafe, a 500-seat performing-arts theater, computer labs, multimedia rooms and study rooms, and museumlike galleries. Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, an Atlanta-based architecture firm, designed the building. http://chronicle.com Section: Information Technology Page: A43
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Copyright © 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education