School celebrates new library as a success of 2009 referendum
By Emily McFarlan emcfarlan@stmedianetwork.com January 28, 2012 10:26PM
The new Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources has many amenities including a cafe. January 27, 2012 | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:25AM
ELGIN — Three years ago to the day, “it was hanging in the balance,” Elgin Community College President David Sam said.
The ECC District 509 Board of Trustees was considering whether to go for a $178 million bond referendum at its Jan. 27, 2009, meeting.
The economy had begun to sour, and the community college already had lost a referendum in 2006, Sam said. But its campus at 1700 Spartan Drive needed major infrastructure improvements — especially its library, which was in danger of losing its accreditation, he said.
Ultimately, the board pushed for the referendum, and voters passed it by 35 votes.
And on Friday — Jan. 27, 2012 — Elgin Community College celebrated the completion of its last major Facilities Master Plan projects on campus with the grand opening of the Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources.
“I remember the day after the referendum, somebody asked me, ‘How does it feel to have won by only 35 votes?’ ” Sam said.
“My response was very simple: ‘Come and see what we do on campus in three years and see if those votes weren’t worth it — see the treasure that is going to serve the community for many years to come.’ ”
The Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources was one of the largest of the Facilities Master Plan projects, budgeted at $26 million for completion in summer 2012. It was completed not just ahead of schedule for the start of the spring semester two weeks ago but also under budget, for $21.5 million, according to college spokesman Jeff Julian.
It also was one of the most-needed. The previous library, similarly named the Renner Learning Resources Center, was built in 1970 to accommodate about 2,500 students, Sam noted. (In the 1950s and 1960s, it had been housed in Renner Hall at Elgin High School.) By 2006, enrollment had grown to nearly 12,000; and the Higher Learning Commission, responsible for accreditation, had cited the library as “unsatisfactory,” he said.
It was the smallest community college library in the Chicago area — smaller even than many of the middle and high school libraries in the area, he said. And it was the one concern Sam had when he took the position as president five years ago, he said.
“That was not going to deter me from coming here, and I’m glad I came to ECC, because we have accomplished nothing short of a miracle,” he said.
The library
That miracle is three times the size of the previous library, with two floors and 57,000 square feet.
It includes 14 private study rooms, 10 group study rooms, a quiet reading room and three large classrooms. The previous library had had none, according to Brian Beecher, the associate dean of the library.
And everything about the building is “flexible,” not only to meet the needs of ECC students if enrollment continues to increase but also, Beecher said, “We don’t know what technology will be like 10 years from now.”
“We designed it to not just meet the needs of today but tomorrow, too,” he said.
The Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources currently holds about 70,000 books and adds about 3,500 a year, the associate dean said. There’s space on shelves for eight to 10 years’ growth, and the community college has invested in about 40,000 academic titles that are available online, he said.
The building also has been submitted for silver-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, according to Paul Dawson, manager director of construction projects for the community college. Sustainable efforts include walls made of limestone from within 500 miles, and water-efficient landscaping in its new plaza and memory garden.
The library also houses the community college’s tutoring center, distance learning and intensive English programs and archives, as well as the Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, which offers professional development for staff, and the Food for Thought Café.
“The typical library doesn’t exist anymore,” Beecher said. “Libraries have become labs in the last few decades. Students are working together in groups. They’re using computers. They can be noisy.”
And Elgin Community College’s new library is positioned at the center of campus with three entrances, connecting it to the Student Resource Center and Advanced Technology Center, and making it a literal “crossroads” for the community college, he said.
Facilities Master Plan
Ivanna Martinez of Carpentersville was getting PowerPoint presentations and checking her homework on a computer in the library before the grand opening Friday. The dental assistant student said she likes the new Renner Academic Library and Resources “a lot better.”
“There seems to be a lot more computers. There are a lot more places to study,” Martinez said.
And Richard Renner — son of the library’s namesake and the community college’s first president, Gilbert Renner — said his father would be “deeply honored to be associated with the building.”
“If he could be here today, he’d certainly say the facility and the day were not honoring just one man because … the community really has honored itself. It honors itself, its residents and its commitment to the future.”
The library is one of six that have been built or renovated with money from the referendum that community approved. The Health Careers Center opened with the library at the start of the spring semester.
Several small renovation projects remain, and the college also plans to replace all signage on campus, all before the start of the fall semester. It also has chosen a site in Burlington for its last Master Plan project, a Public Safety and Sustainibility Center.
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