by Stephanie Kitts
Daily Lobo
The main entrance to Centennial Science and Engineering Library will be closed for repairs for four months starting today.
The library can be accessed through the basement of the Electrical and Computer Engineering building, north of the library's main entrance, said Joel Straquadine, UNM facilities maintenance manager.
"We're going to still have to get people in and out of there, and we'll do it with as little inconvenience as possible," he said. "We don't want to impact the students, but we're going to do as much as we can this fall."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Signs will be placed near the main entrance telling students where to go, according to the library's Web site.
The entrance is the first of four construction phases on the library, Straquadine said, and the project will cost about $1.7 million.
Constant leaking and a flood in 2004 created a moldy environment in the library,
Straquadine said.
"Mold grew so bad because we were already moist," he said.
The library has had water leaks for 20 years, said Bruce Neville, the library's director.
After the flood, UNM's insurance company said structural problems with the building would have to be fixed, he said.
The other phases of the project will be to reconstruct walls, windows and skylights on the plaza level of the library, Neville said.
Access to books and other reference materials should not be disrupted, he said.
"The one impact it will have will be noise," he said. "But I'm not expecting to have to shut us down for any period of time."
