On Thursday, August 26, a small group of San Jose students visited the William H. Hannan Library at Loyola Marymount University. The tour (hosted by ALASC) was conducted by Glenn Johnson-Grau, Head of Collection Development. The library is named after William H. Hannan, whose foundations donated $20 million for the construction of the library. Hannan became a student at Loyola University (now Loyola Marymount University) in 1933. Since his family could not afford the tuition, his mother sent a letter to president of the University requesting that her son be admitted to the school if he promised to pay back the school after he found a job. The president admitted Hannan on a full scholarship ($200). Since then, his foundations have contributed approximately $83 million in donations to the University.
The library was in development for 2 years and opened in July 2009. It replaced the old library building, which is currently being renovated into a student union. As you enter the new library, there are touch-screen panels on the wall with information for visitors. Near the entrance is Jazzman’s Café and media lounge, which was added due to numerous requests by students and staff. On the first floor is the Information Commons, which contains the print reference collection and 85 computers which have double platforms, meaning that they may be booted up with either a Windows or Mac OS, depending on the user’s preference. Students may also plug their laptop into the network or use the building’s wireless capabilities.
Upstairs are 32 group study rooms which may be reserved by students. The study rooms are equipped with video cameras for recording presentations and whiteboard walls for students to write on during group sessions. There are also classrooms, which are used mainly for library instruction. These are equipped with video capture, 2 pull-down screens for presentations, microphones hanging from the ceiling, and either desktop computers at every desk or movable desks and a cart with enough laptops for an entire class to be used when needed.
One accommodation for students is the use of lockers. Each locker has electrical outlets that students may use to charge a laptop or cell phone while storing their belongings they do not wish to carry with them while in the library. One area designed for the faculty is the Reading Room and Faculty Innovation Center. Faculty may choose to either work or lounge in the traditional Reading Room equipped with a fireplace, lockers, and comfy furniture, or experiment with and learn about the latest technology in the Innovation Center.
Even with all the latest technology built into the library as well as the conveniences available to students and staff, my favorite part of the library was the view. Many of the rooms in the library have floor to ceiling windows which give a spectacular view of the city. Glenn, our tour guide, stated that on a clear day you can see all the way out to Malibu. So whether you come for the view or the technology, I would recommend visiting this beautiful library to see for yourself all that it has to offer.
Margaret Puentes is in her final semester of the SLIS program. In addition to working on her E-portfolio, she is enjoying her internship at a small branch of the Orange County Public Libraries. She is currently working part-time as a Library Page, Library Media Tech, and Nursery Attendant (babies, not plants). Her interest is in public libraries.
My daughter attends LMU and I am a frequent visitor to the Hannon Library.
What I find as impressive as the beautiful building is their annual book budget – $3,000,000. Yes, it is $3,000,000. They truly have every book I want to read.
This author is very talented and any library would be lucky to have her as an intern or employee. Very nice.