Gray Library overhaul will provide LU campus state-of-the-art facility
Lamar University’s Gray Library is undergoing an $83.5 million renovation which means services will be limited.
Major renovation work will begin with a groundbreaking ceremony, Oct. 15. The renovation project is scheduled to last until the end of 2026, and all eight floors will be completely renovated and redesigned, Kirk Smith, library manager, said.
Work actually began in the spring when two of the four elevators were replaced.
“We had to do the elevators first, because we had to ensure they’re working throughout construction,” Smith said.
The top six floors of the library are already closed, and the first two floors have limited access.
Smith said the renovations will be carried out first on the higher floors on levels five to eight. For the duration of the renovation work, the books from the higher floors were moved to the lower floors.
“I did not want the books to leave the building,” Smith said.
Smith said there are more than a million physical books on the library shelves. Each of these books has to be moved individually. The library has hired more than 40 part-time student assistants for the work.
“We moved basically one shelf, one cart at a time,” Smith said. “First, we compacted the third floor. Then we got the fourth floor moved down, and then we moved the fifth floor down to the fourth floor, and then that cleared off the fifth floor. We took all that shelving down and that’s stored now on the fourth floor. We had to utilize every bit of space.”
Smith said the goal is to keep the library as functional as possible while the construction is happening.
“Floors three and four turned into storage space, like a warehouse,” he said. “When students need books from those floors, they’ll come to us, and we will get those books down for them. A lot of times, students want to shop the call number range. I will allow them to go up there with one of our staff members and look for a little bit.”
Smith said students will still be able to borrow books and print. Smith said he is making study space available, including the ground floor area previously used by the Writing Center, which has temporarily moved to the Maes Building.
“We have created additional study space in their former rooms on the first floor, as the other study rooms on the upper floors are closed,” he said.
Starbucks will probably be open throughout the entire construction, Smith said.
“There will be times when we have to close the building because they’re moving plumbing or electrical, for example, (but) it shouldn’t be more than a day at a time,” he said. “Hopefully, we can time that around the holidays.”
Smith said the process is detailed and requires careful planning.
“Think about it, if you moved an entire household, it would take weeks to pack it,” he said. “I’m moving an entire building. You need a lot of manpower and a good plan for that.”