Official Groundbreaking - 4/25/2014

While work began on the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library in March, today marked the official groundbreaking for our project.  Representatives from state and federal government were present, along with CCC trustees and community partners.  CCC President Katherine Douglas made some introductory remarks.

She was followed by Dr. Neil Milliken III, chair of the Regional Board of Trustees, Jan van den Blink, the president of the CCC Development Foundation, Senator Thomas O'Mara, Assemblyman Philip Palmesano, Scott Collins of USDA Rural Development, and Karen Martin from the Corning Incorporated Foundation.  Then it was time to put the shovels in the ground!

The Books Have Left the Building!

This week our book collection was carefully packed and moved to a climate-controlled storage space, thanks to Naglee Movers from Elmira.

The shelves were numbered.

The books were carefully loaded onto book trucks.

Labels were checked and double-checked.

Each book truck gets wrapped in plastic.

Then the books are loaded onto trucks.

Once one truck is loaded, a second takes its place.
The first goes to the warehouse to be unloaded and then returns.

And in less than three days, we've gone from this:

To this!

Wow!  But don't worry, our books will be back.  The professional crew from Naglee will return them to our renovated space in January 2015, where they will be shelved on compact shelving.  Until then, ask a librarian about our ebook collection, or let us help you get materials from other libraries via interlibrary loan.

More Progress

It took about a week, but the bridge and retaining wall are now gone!

The big jackhammer makes short work of concrete slabs.

Loading the dump trucks.

What was left Monday afternoon (4/14).

It was rainy and miserable all day Tuesday April 15, so we didn't take any pictures.  However, here is what the area looked like Wednesday -

All the concrete is gone!  Now crews are preparing the ground for construction to begin.

Next week our books will be packed - come back to see just how that all gets done!

I think we're gonna need a bigger...

...jackhammer?

Once the entry bridge came down, it was time to tear down the retaining wall in the bank.  It was slow going at first, with a "small" jackhammer and backhoe.

On Friday, the construction crew brought in some bigger equipment.  Work progressed much more quickly!

At the end of the day, it looked like this -

Removing the Bridge

The distinctive bridge that led to the main entrance of the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library was removed today.  It will be replaced with a two-floor addition, housing a cafe and program space upstairs and our book collection and archives on the lower level.

Jackhammering.

Bringing in the big equipment.

Getting closer...

Collapse!

More collapsing.

Our very own "bridge to nowhere."

"I demolish my bridges behind me......then there is no choice but to move forward.” Fridtjof Nansen (Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate)

What Happened During Break Week

1) Furniture and carpeting was removed from classrooms on the lower level (to be re-purposed elsewhere on campus).

2) Librarians finished reviewing the print book collection, and our final shipment of discarded books left for Better World Books recycling program.

3) Several large carpets and tapestries were removed from the building.

rolled tapestries

4) Scaffolding went up outside...

5)...and fencing and plywood have now effectively closed the main entrance to the library!

Until the end of the semester, you can access the library via the Learning Center (R building).  Go to the lower level and follow the hallway until you get to our doors:

The stop signs on the door are to alert you to the fact that you cannot use the other Library exits ("no thru traffic").  But we are still open and ready to help with your research!  Come see us!

Emptying the Building Continues

L203 (conference room) before:

L203 being emptied (This room also became a "staging area" for materials from our art storage room):

That's a LOT of bubble wrap!

 Out the door...

 ...and onto the truck.