LCCC, Elyria Public Library join forces 

ELYRIA — The construction of a new three-story building on the campus of Lorain County Community College is underway that will bring the services of the Elyria Public Library System to the college campus.

Construction of the 86,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to be completed in late summer, with a grand opening in early fall. The new building will replace the existing library, one of the oldest buildings on LCCC’s campus.

“This will be a true collaboration and partnership in every sense of the word,” said Marcia Ballinger, vice president for strategic and institutional development at LCCC.  “We will not only partner on the space, but collaborate on the programming we will offer the public. I’m excited about the potential this brings by combining the expertise of the staff of LCCC and the Elyria Public Library System.”

The library will serve not only as the new college facility, but also as an official Elyria Library branch, said Janet Stoffer, director of the Elyria Public Library System.

“We will provide materials across the spectrum just like you would find in a traditional public library,” Stoffer said. “We see this as just one more opportunity for people in that part of the town to utilize the services of the library while making it convenient for them.”

The three-story building was planned to fit architecturally with the theme of the college while at the same time bringing a more open, contemporary look what will be the campus’ new front door, Ballinger said.

LCCC is paying for the building while the library will pay a yearly administrative fee to cover the cost of facility management (parking, security, building maintenance), Stouffer said.

The library will purchase materials to build a collection at the branch. It will be staffed by both college and library staff.

The first floor will feature popular adult material, newspapers, magazines, DVDs CDs, an inviting children’s area as well as a 3,500 square-foot space called “The Living Room,” which will be a community meeting place.

 The second floor will include an information common area with computer terminals, public services desks, group study areas and bookshelves for approximately half of the library’s adult book collection. Additional space for books will be located on the third floor with more group and individual study areas.

Stoffer said material from the public collection and college collection will be filed together, allowing patrons a myriad of resources.

“It will have a very different look and feel then the current location and will be very conducive to the needs of learners today,” Ballinger said.

Existing public library cards can be used at the LCCC location to borrow materials, Stoffer said. A community card from the college will allow patrons to check out college material. But that is not a new thing as such the service already exists at LCCC.

Ballinger said the college, through its master plan, has been planning for the creation of a new campus library for some time. LCCC President Dr. Roy A. Church sought to turn that vision into a venture that could connect the community more to the college and, with that, the partnership was born.

“This library strategy reinforces the ‘community’ in Lorain County Community College … and will connect to the community’s array of learning needs, from students, to senior citizens, to returning workers, and entrepreneurs,” Church said.

The collaboration will not effect Elyria’s other existing branches, which worked to push circulation numbers in 2007 past 906,000, the most the library as seen in its history.

“It’s easy for the community to feel a connection to their public library. We want them to feel that same connection to the college library and take advantage of what both has to offer,” Stoffer said. “We are both hoping and believe we will accomplishment a lot more with this partnership then we could ever do alone.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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