The 900,000 books from the Henry Madden Library at Fresno State have started “coming home” to the campus after being housed in an off-site warehouse for the past three years during construction of the new library located at the site of the previous building.
Though the new Madden Library is still seven months from opening, on June 3, crews began a three-week process of returning the books to the campus. They will be delivered by semi trucks to the basement (officially called the “collection level”) of the new library building. Books are being delivered after 3 p.m. each day, after construction workers end their day, to alleviate traffic issues and allow the use of the freight elevator.
The books will be stored in new electronic “compact shelving” and will remain there until the upper floors and the South Wing remodel are completed. Then, some collections will be dispersed to other floors. The majority of the books will remain in the collection level.
Until the library opens in January 2009, patrons will continue to use online and in-person forms to request books, which are delivered to a campus location for them. Delivery times will be shortened, since the books will be on campus.
During the remaining construction period, library personnel, services and materials will continue to be available to students, faculty and the community. Most library staff members have moved into temporary modular units south of the Satellite Student Union when the South Wing of the library closed for renovation on May 16. They will remain there through December and then will move back into the new Library in January.
The Madden Library collection contains 1 million volumes. Remaining on campus during the construction were music/media, government documents/maps, the Arne Nixon Center collection, reference, curriculum/juvenile and special collections.
