Library addition finally
By Pat Omandam
gets under way
Star-BulletinAs an exchange student in Hawaii, Oregon State University senior Alisa Ashmon says Hamilton Library is about half the size of the research library at her alma mater.
But the botany and plant pathology major agrees that will change once the long-awaited major addition to Hamilton is completed sometime in fall 2000.
"You can never have too much library space," she said at the University of Hawaii-Manoa yesterday.
Ashmon was among those who gathered at the loading dock of the former Hamilton Snack Bar to formally begin a $45.1 million project to transform the site into a six-story library addition that will be connected to the existing library by two bridges.
The state-of-the-art facility will increase Hamilton's floor space by 37 percent or from 223,265 square feet to 304,890 square feet, allowing it to move its entire science and technology section onto the first four floors.
The remaining floors will be reserved for Hamilton's archival and heritage collections, such as rare books, the congressional papers of past Hawaii senators such as Hiram Fong and Spark M. Matsunaga, as well as the archives of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association and Aiea Sugar Mill. These documents need special air-conditioning to stave off mold and mildew for their preservation.
Graduate student Derrick Kong, who recently served on a task force to help the library prepare for an accreditation visit last spring, told Gov. Ben Cayetano, UH Board Chairman Donald Kim, President Kenneth P. Mortimer and others their job is not done. With information produced at an increasing rate, Kong said the need to store, index and make such data available in the library only gets harder.
State officials need a reminder this expansion is an ongoing process and not a one-shot deal, Kong said.
"As daunting as this sounds, even as this building goes up, we must start planning for when it gets full or again play catch up for years," he said.
Hamilton Library was built in 1968 and named after Thomas H. Hamilton, the university's seventh president.
A second phase was completed in 1977, with plans for the current third phase in 1985.
But it wasn't until the Cayetano administration last year embarked on a $1 billion capital improvements project that the expansion became UH's top priority, said Mortimer, who called Hamilton Library one of the state's most enduring assets.
Cayetano said funding the library expansion was a symbol of whether state lawmakers considered higher education a priority.
In 1993, the state Legislature and then-Gov. John Waihee were criticized for funding the Stan Sherriff Arena over UH academic priorities, such as library renovations.
Of the $45.1 million for the project, $3.5 million was spent for planning and design, while $36.5 million is for construction. An estimated $5.1 million will be needed for furniture and equipment.
Contractor Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. is expected to take 20 months to finish the project once construction begins next month.
The extension is expected to be open for use in November 2000. Existing library services will not be affected by the work.
