Why it matters: The new library forms part of a significant investment in the university's campus, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Jenny Higham describing it as "the first milestone" in ambitious development plans that will bring further new facilities to students in the coming years.
The details: The refreshed space includes an expanded book collection with more room for sub-collections including poetry and local history, as well as an extensive digital library. Students will also benefit from new study areas for both individual and group learning, spaces for one-to-one appointments, and a new sensory space on the first floor, developed in response to student feedback requesting a quiet area to regulate away from screens and learning environments.
What they're saying: Professor Higham said: "I am delighted to welcome students and staff to explore this new, modern space. Our new library is part of a significant investment that we are making across our campus to support and improve our students' learning experience and today's official opening marks the completion of this first milestone in our ambitious campus development plans."
She added: "I would like to thank all the teams that have been involved in the new library project, particularly the library services and estates teams who have worked to tight deadlines to deliver this innovative new space."
What's next: Phase two of the estate development programme will create additional postgraduate and quiet study spaces in the Waterfront Building and transform the former library into a new Student Hub for the Students' Union, featuring informal social spaces, bookable rooms for student societies and clubs, prayer spaces, and a gym and fitness studios. Further investment will also deliver new pharmacy facilities in the James Hehir Building and a clinical dispensary in the Health and Wellbeing Building.
The bottom line: The new library marks the first step in a wide-ranging programme of campus investment at the University of Suffolk, with more development still to come.
