Woodbury University Library Is Dedicated

Woodbury University dedicated a library Wednesday housed in a renovated former chapel at the school’s Burbank campus.

The 14,000-square-foot library has been open since 1987, when renovations were complete. Ceremonies on campus Wednesday included naming the structure the Los Angeles Times Library in recognition of a $200,000 contribution from the Times Mirror Foundation.

The renovation prepared the chapel, built in 1950, and chapel office annex to hold the university’s collection of more than 120,000 books and periodicals. The chapel was a remnant of the former Villa Cabrini Academy, a Catholic school for girls. Woodbury University moved to the campus from downtown Los Angeles three years ago.

Two Woodbury alumni who majored in interior design planned the renovation, which cost about $500,000, said Woodbury spokeswoman Karen B. Spiegel.

“When you walk in, there’s still a kind of awesome feeling about it,” she said. “They still have some of the stained glass there and some of the original lighting fixtures.”

Areas of the former chapel house reference books and a study area. The annex, built in 1959, has reading rooms and book stacks.

Other foundations that have contributed to Woodbury’s capital fund include: the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Weingart Foundation, the Roy Disney Family Foundation, the Lockheed Corporation and the Security Pacific Foundation.