SBOE approves facelift to UI library, working on design
BOISE — After two years of preliminary planning, a proposal to renovate the University of Idaho Library was unanimously approved by the State Board of Education Thursday.
UI Vice President of Finance and Administration Ron Smith proposed the plan, and said the changes would affect the first floor of the building.
“The plan is to widen out the first floor to create collaborative spaces, access to state of the art technology and a coffee bar,” Smith said.
UI President Chuck Staben said the university is “anxious to start,” although a timeline for the renovations has not yet been established.
Lynn Baird, dean of UI Libraries, said the design process would likely occur over the summer. She said she has planned on the renovation since 1999, but “intensive funding” for the project began last year, after Staben proposed the university match a level of private funding to support the project.
“President Staben challenged us to meet a $200,000 challenge and the Library Advisory Board and other donors were able to meet that,” Baird said.
When construction begins, Smith said UI would likely complete the project “piece-wise,” so students are still able to access portions of the first floor as renovations are carried out.
While Smith did not give a specific date of completion, he estimated UI would not be finished with renovations before the end of the 2015-2016 academic year.
“I really think this is a space that students are going to love,” Baird said. “The library is iconic to what the university stands for, the pursuit of knowledge.”
George Wood Jr. can be reached at [email protected]