MARYSVILLE, Calif. – After two long years of planning, re-locating, and construction, the new Yuba College Library/Learning Resources Center is scheduled to reopen to students in January 2014, just in time for the start of the spring semester.

Amazing as it may seem, many of Yuba College’s current students have never set foot in what was once the Library.

Although the actual footprint of the building has not changed, what is inside is dramatically different.

Now, when the 24,000 books get re-shelved, current and future students will enjoy the open and airy look and feel of the building with an added level of sophistication and timelessness that the previous design lacked.

When the new Learning Resources Center opens it will house the library, college success center, tutoring center, distance education, ITV studio, and computer, journalism and study labs and faculty offices.

As you enter the foyer, you are immediately struck by the new color pallet and the contemporary lighting design. This area has moveable furniture making it suitable for artist receptions and special events.

The area also has a café-style data bank where students can connect their mobile devices and laptops for on-line research.

Upstairs, where the books are housed, there is also soft, movable seating so that students can sit and review their materials prior to checking them out.

As you move into the College Success Center where the majority of the tutoring takes place there will be numerous computer stations and quiet study and meeting rooms so that tutoring can occur in the most optimal environment.

In consultation with the Japanese American League (JAL), a reinvigorated Japanese Garden area has been identified.

The location of the previous garden was in an area that was not central to the student’s path of travel; the new location, on the east side of the building, is connected to one of the main entrances and will be a popular thoroughfare for students therefore giving more visibility to the beautiful testament to a long-standing community partnership.

The Instructional Television and Distance Education portion of the building will become the central hub for transmitting E-learning classes.

There is a state-of-the-art control room, sound locks which will provide acoustic isolation and a video editing room. There are also computer training rooms where staff and students can work in a collaborative environment to complete specified training and instructional needs.

All of the hard-working individuals that have served on the Learning Resources Center Project Team for the past two years believe that students and staff will agree that the long wait for the new library to open will be well worth it once they set foot in this beautiful, new, modern, facility.