Workers braved rain and sleet over winter break to guarantee returning students wouldn’t have to when they study in Morris Library this semester.

Library officials said construction on the library continued seamlessly over break despite weather conditions and the first phase of the $48 million renovation project is on track.

Dean of Library Affairs David Carlson said he was especially pleased with the weather proofing of the library and the progress on the library’s 50,000 square foot addition.

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“I’m just really thrilled to have the building be a little bit more buttoned up,” Carlson said. “Every week it gets a little better. Every week it’s a little drier, it’s a little warmer, and that’s really helpful to us and the staff that work over there.”

Associate Dean of Support Services in Library Affairs Susan Logue agreed, saying weatherproofing was an important goal over break.

“They worked pretty hard to get as much of the building enclosed and out of the weather as possible,” Logue said. “You may see a lot more temporary plastic walls around the front of the building. They did quite a bit to close us up from the outside air.”

Along with the temporary enclosure, Logue said a temporary heating system was installed and some existing heating and cooling systems were reconfigured to keep the library warm during the winter.

The permanent heating and ventilation equipment for the library was delivered to the roof via helicopter several days after Christmas, she said. Work will begin on the system once the third, fourth and fifth floors are turned over to the library staff.

Logue said workers also finished the concrete walls and footings of the addition, where workers are scheduled to begin erecting steel within the next 30 days.

Floors three, four and five are scheduled to be completed in November or December. Construction will begin on the basement and first floor after everything is moved to the completed floors.

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Work cannot begin on the second floor until work begins on the first, but it is scheduled for completion shortly after the third, fourth and fifth floors are completed. The move will complete phase one, and the new elevator and central stairwell will then open to access the third, fourth and fifth floors.

The tunnel and back entrance of Morris will continue to be the only accessible entrance once phase one is complete. Morris’ main entrance is not scheduled to open until June 2008 at the completion of the renovation.

Kevin Davie, the library’s geographic information systems specialist, said he helps protect the library’s interest during construction and will help with the logistics of planning moves from floor to floor as construction progresses.

“I think things are going pretty well as far as the construction part goes,” Davie said. “The construction company continues to tell us they feel like they’re on track and it looks as though they are.”

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