CSUN to Push for Library Repairs

Fearing that the lack of a permanent library might trigger an exodus of students and faculty, Cal State Northridge officials have decided to push to reopen the university’s earthquake-damaged Oviatt Library this fall.

The plan is a switch from a decision made in May, when officials said they would replace temporary on-campus library facilities with a warehouse-type, tilt-up concrete structure.

The tilt-up structure would have cost about $4 million to build, about half the cost of reopening Oviatt, said Doug Davis, CSUN’s associate dean of libraries. However, it would have held only about one-quarter of Oviatt’s collection.

“When we got to the point where we could fully analyze everything, we realized (reopening Oviatt) was a far superior solution,” he said.

Construction is under way to make about 60% of Oviatt usable by Aug. 29, the first day of classes.

The project is expected to cost about $7 million, CSUN spokesman Mike Hammerschmidt said. About 90% of the cost will be covered by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance program. The balance will be paid with tax money from previous bond sales.

The work includes structural repairs to the 220,000-square-foot Oviatt and consolidating all of its 1.1 million volumes into the original 130,000-square-foot center of the building.

Most of the quake damage was to the two newer wings of Oviatt, CSUN’s only on-campus library.

“It’s a bit of a squeeze, but a huge improvement over what we had in the spring,” Davis said.

He added, however, that it may still be two years or more before the entire library is usable.

CSUN’s enrollment had already been slipping when the Jan. 17 temblor heavily damaged the campus, and officials were concerned that the lack of a permanent library would prompt some of its more than 25,000 students and faculty to leave.

Oviatt’s collection of books and reference materials is currently housed in two emergency facilities on campus--a 15,000-square-foot hall known as the North Annex and the 13,000-square-foot Lindley Dome.

Both facilities will continue to be used this fall for some library activities and study space, Davis said. Another dome will also be built next to Lindley Dome to provide additional study space.

The university also had established a shuttle service for students and faculty to use UCLA’s library facilities in Westwood.

Davis said the decision to reopen Oviatt came at a meeting between CSUN’s top administrators, faculty representatives and the university’s consulting engineers.

The Northridge campus suffered an estimated $350 million in damage as a result of January’s quake.