CATERPILLAR FOUNDATION PLEDGES $1 MILLION
TO MONMOUTH COLLEGE LIBRARY CAMPAIGN
Release Date: March 20, 2001
The Caterpillar Foundation Board has approved a $1 million
grant to Monmouth College, specifying that the gift be applied toward the college’s $5.5
million campaign to completely renovate Hewes Library.
"We’re pleased and grateful that the Caterpillar Foundation
has provided us with this magnificent gift," said college president Richard F. Giese. "This
will help us realize our goal of providing future Monmouth College students with a library
that is second to none and allow them access to the most advanced learning tools possible."
Work is expected to begin this summer on the renovation,
which will entail an extensive update of the building’s technological capabilities. Experts
believe the library of the future will be more reliant on technology, with increasing amounts
of data and information stored on and accessed with computers. Hewes Library currently has a
traditional design, as it was built before the advent of electronically-stored information.
The renovation will make the building more accessible to technology, creating a new high-tech
electronic classroom and study areas with Internet connections.
The plans also include a significant redesign of the
building, providing a library that is more aesthetically pleasing. The changes will enhance
the atmosphere in the library by adding air conditioning and will provide more exterior light
by adding new windows and skylights. Other major improvements include a new entrance on the
east side of the building and completion of the third floor, which was left unfinished during
the original construction. In addition, a new coffee shop is planned for the current Pi Beta
Phi Lounge to make the library a social center as well as a learning center, and the first two
floors will be completely remodeled.
Released
by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330
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