BY ZACHARY MATSON, The Daily Gazette

Begley Library at SUNY Schenectady County Community College is set for a major renovation to convert the dated space into a hub of activity and base for academic supports.

The library will be closed all of next school year as construction crews gut and then fully renovate the space, constructed in the late-1970s and little touched since, creating what the school is calling a learning commons. After the renovation, the college will consolidate various student services – now scattered throughout the college – into the learning commons and open a new cafe as an extra enticement.

The college’s writing center will move from the fifth floor of Elston Hall to Begley; the career center will be moved from second floor Elston Hall to Begley; math, computer and science study labs will find a home in the library; a new archive room will allow the school to show off its collections.

The overall project is expected to cost just over $10 million, largely split between state and county governments. The Schenectady County Legislature has earmarked $4.2 million for the project.

“It’s one of the most exciting things we’ve done in a long time,” Penny Haynes, the college’s provost and vice president for academic and student affairs, said last week. “It’s no longer just a library… Everything will be in one place.”

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