Paladin

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt Robinson [Click to enlarge]

"The vanguard of a new movement," is how Leticia Suarez described the new Library and Learning Resource Center at the PCC, during a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Suarez, the Dean of Learning Resources, Teaching and Technologies, wasn't the only person who expressed those sentiments.

"This library represents a new beginning for this campus and the community. This will go down as a renaissance for the PCC. Over the next five years, we'll expand all the way to Walnut Avenue," said LBCC President Eloy Oakley as he addressed the crowd of more than 200 students, college officials and city leaders.

The library, which officially opened Aug. 18, is a two-story facility featuring a multidisciplinary student success center, a faculty resource center and a video conferencing room, among other amenities.

The center was a point of emphasis by college officials and students. Tutoring, supplemental instruction and college assessment are just a few of the offered services.

"We're not just here to celebrate a new building. We're here to celebrate a new opportunity for our students. We have to embrace that and take it serious. We cannot allow another generation to go unprepared," Oakley said.

"It's a good resource that's helped me out a bunch. I'm looking forward to using these resources to my advantage," said student Brianna Tanner, who has used the center's tutoring services.

In addition to the center, the library has more than 100 computers. The $9.2 million facility was funded by money from the 2002 Measure E bond of $176 million.

Forty laptops will be installed in the video conferencing room, where students can communicate with instructors between the PCC and the LAC. Fifty already are located in the student research lab and 50 are in the academic computing center. Four of the five group study rooms have video screens for laptop use.

"It's a lot more convenient being in a space that's built to accommodate what we're trying to do, rather than a place that's cramped and outdated," said Sean Carroll, multimedia services supervisor, whose department relocated from the PCC's old print shop to an office on the Library's first floor.

"I've used the library a few times since it opened and it looks good," said Marcus Baines, an English major. "Unlike the old library, it's more spacious and modernized, which is what students will need to be better prepared for the workplace. We're finally looking like a real campus."

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