Students in the Ludden Library on campus of Laramie County Community College in February of 2019. Michael Smith/LCCC
Laramie County Community College’s Ludden Library recently reopened after a $6.2 million expansion. The project was funded with $2.6 million from the LCCC Foundation and $2.5 million from the Wyoming State Legislature, with the balance coming from a mill levy and major maintenance funds.
Students in the Ludden Library on campus of Laramie County Community College in February of 2019. Michael Smith/LCCC
The new library space is already busy with students and members of the local community exploring all the resources. While the Ludden Library is a college library, it is open to all members of the public who have a library card from any public Wyoming library or college or university.
“Traffic has been huge,” said Associate Dean and Library Director Maura Hadaway. “The feedback from our patrons is amazing. The ones who saw it before the renovation were just floored. We tried not to over-engineer it so that we can make room for people and room for people to grow. There’s a feeling that the library is a space for everyone now.”
When demolition began June 1 last year, the library moved its services into two small rooms in the College Community Center. Most staff worked out of interim locations, the bulk of the physical collection was unavailable, and study space was limited. Still, the library was able to offer regular hours and staffing, computers, a small physical collection, reserve materials, seating, and increased interlibrary loan.
Students in the Ludden Library Learning Commons on the campus of Laramie County Community College in February of 2019. Michael Smith/LCCC
Now the library has a redesigned learning commons, two large conference/instructional rooms, an innovation lab and even a family study room, complete with toys and coloring books, so that students with children can work and study on the two desktop computers. Some much-needed weeding freed up space for students.
Student tutor Haley Simpson, right, helps Amani Kibinda, center, and Gabriella Nunez, left, study for Anatomy class in the Ludden Library on the campus of Laramie County Community College in March of 2019. Michael Smith/LCCC
Maura was especially proud of how well the renovated facility is tailor-made to serve its community. “We did a survey of student needs and asked them what barriers kept them from using our resources,” she said. “We really tried to address those in the renovation. The family study room, more quiet space, more group study space, more technology options—all those were things our students asked for and we were able to deliver.”
Student in the Ludden Library Learning Commons on the campus of Laramie County Community College in February of 2019. Michael Smith/LCCC
The library will hold its official Grand Re-Opening at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 25. Library benefactors Randy and Yvonne Ludden are expected to travel from Texas to join the celebration. The entire community is invited to attend to see this beautiful new space.
The library’s hours and additional information can be found on the LCCC website at http://lccc.wy.edu/library.