BHSU library renovation complete

By sidnee short

Black Hills Pioneer

SPEARFISH — Many college students utilize their schools library to read and learn, and eventually, they use that knowledge to move up in their chosen careers.

In October 2020, the E.Y. Berry Library-Learning Center at Black Hills State University (BHSU) closed for business, and received a complete interior renovation.

Finally, after lota’s of hard work from all those involved, the library opened in December 2022 and is offering all kinds of student support.

Built in 1973, the university library was in need of an upgrade in order to keep up with educational demands, according to the BHSU website.

Facilities and sustainability assistant director at BHSU, Deborah Liddick, said that the renovation has created a place where students can go to meet all their needs, whether it’s finding a quiet place to study, or meeting with their advisor.

“(Now), it’s more of an official gathering place to study and to do some student support functions in there,” Liddick said.

Business development director for AinsworthBenning Construction, Kevin Wagner, talked about the large construction project that the company tackled the last 18 months or so.

The company completed a total renovation of the existing library, along with a 4,000-square-foot addition to the second floor.

The new addition has floor-to-ceiling windows that face Lookout Mountain east of Spearfish, which Wagner said allows a lot of light to flood into the building.

Mostly, open concept, the addition has a fireplace that acts as the focal point of the space.

“The entirety of the rest of the project was just a complete renovation of the basement, main, and then what I would call the second, or the upper floor.” Wagner said.

The project was roughly a 60,000-square-foot renovation, with 25-30 people on average working on it every day.

While the library was shut down, students were able to make use of the student union if they needed to study on campus.

The library now contains a career center, tutoring center, writing lab, math lab, innovation lab, help desk, professional advisors offices, and study rooms.

The furniture in the building includes couches, “comfy” chairs, and desk cubicles.

“There’s a place for whatever style studying you want. If you want to by quiet, or you want to be like a people-watcher and see who’s comin’ in, there’s places to sit and watch people, and study,” Liddick said. “You can be seen or not be seen.”

With 11 study rooms throughout the building, multiple students are able to meet in groups at a time, without disturbing others studying individually in the library.