by Wendel Sloan

With Bond C passing in the Nov. 8 General Election, Eastern New Mexico University will receive an additional $11 million toward the transformation of Golden Library, opened in 1952, into the Golden Student Success Center (GSSC). The total project will cost $26 million, with another $11 million coming from the 2014 bond issue and $4 million from the university.

Bond C passed by a statewide percentage of 63.27 percent to 36.73 percent, with Roosevelt county passing it by the third highest margin—69.56 percent.

While retaining all the functions of a traditional library, the GSSC will be a destination for social and intellectual interaction between students, faculty and resources, and become a hub on campus where students can connect with needed resources in a technology-rich environment.

The 94,000 square-foot facility will make use of natural light and views to the outside, with sustainable maintenance and operation costs.

The GSSC will include academic assistance—including writing and tutoring assistance–collaborative study spaces, after-hours help with registration, financial aid, advising and counseling and a café.

GSSC will also include a two-story-tall gallery, presentation rooms fully equipped and flexible with various shapes and sizes, an electronic events display and a triage/assessment area where students can meet with staff who will refer them to the appropriate people for help.

Services currently administered by Golden Library staff will be incorporated into GSSC, including:

  • General Collection
    Books and other materials based on the curricula of the university’s disciplines. Each discipline has a subject librarian and a faculty library-representative to assure that needs of the students are addressed and available.
  • Journal Collection
    Print journals are available for titles not available online.
  • Government Documents Collection
    ENMU is designated as the regional depository for the eastern section of New Mexico. As such, ENMU selects 43 percent of all federal documents produced by the federal government and 100 percent of New Mexico documents. Materials are free to depositories and available to all citizens of the state.
  • Maps Collection
    This contains all forms of maps: atlases, globes, physical maps, New Mexico topographical maps, etc.
  • Special Collections
    This contains three separate collections: University archives (the official records of the University, New Mexico/Southwest rare and hard-to-find books, maps, papers, etc., and Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library (3rd largest collection in the academic world), used by researchers from around the world.
  • Juvenile Collection
    Used by College of Education students, selected for literary content and style.
  • Instructional Resource Center
    Maintained in cooperation with the New Mexico Education Department. Supplied by publishers, organized by the library and kept for a six-year cycle, used by Education students, home-schooling parents, and evaluated by the surrounding school districts for purchase of their textbooks.
  • Media and Technology
    This area is flexible, and includes computer labs arranged in flexible patterns or areas. It will also contain at least three stations for graphic production for students designing, printing and laminating visuals the university and community uses. Die-cuts for bulletin boards, poster paper, button-making equipment and supplies, Scantrons, paper cutters, sound and video equipment, laptops, TVs, etc., are available from this department.
  • Circulation Area
    Physical resource management is the main responsibility of this area. Materials are checked in and out, resources are organized so that there is easy access, and multiple student study areas are developed and maintained to provide areas to meet every student’s needs.
  • Library Administrative Area
    This will include a reception area, two offices and a conference room.
  • Other Areas
    Other areas will include a reference area, study areas, offices and technical services for material processing, mail, acquisition, book repair, etc.

Golden Library has been temporarily moved into Bernalillo Hall while renovation of the infrastructure of Golden Library gets underway.

“This renovation and transformation will make you proud that a wonderful facility like the Golden Student Success Center will continue to be a cornerstone of ENMU’s beautiful campus, and keep us competitive with other universities,” said Dr. Steven Gamble, ENMU president.