Axe Library opens after renovations

Pittsburg State is always improving and trying to make the building and spaces more appealing and more comfortable for students and staff and the Axe Library is no exception.  

The Axe Library had a ribbon cutting and an opening ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. Construction at the library has been going for months and the nearly $1 million renovations are completed.  

President Steve Scott, dean of library services Randy Roberts, director of special collections Steve Cox, assistant professor of biology Christine Brodsky, and student Grace Hendrickson all spoke at the ceremony.  

According to Roberts, those who attended the ceremony were happy with the renovations.  

“I think the reaction was very, very positive both from the design and all of the physical changes but also for the kinds of spaces that we’ve provided,” Roberts said. “When we opened the building at 1 o’clock, just in a matter of a couple of minutes, we had students in some of the study rooms and at the various types of seating and the response was overwhelming that whole day and evening. The first floor had a lot of people using it. So, I think everybody was really pleased with the outcome and really excited about the new spaces.”  

Undeclared sophomore and student employee at the library Parker Samford spent most of his time in the library before the renovations and continues to spend the majority of his time there.  

“I was here at the library pretty much any time that I was not in class,” Samford said. “It gave me a place to get on a computer and get done with a couple hours of homework, just get it out of the way before going home so I’d have a little bit more free time. Even now that I’m a worker, I’m still here pretty much all the time even outside of work, just either relaxing or just to get done with homework.”  

Students, faculty and staff, and community members appreciated the new seating arrangements, study rooms, the computer lab, and the Axe Grind Coffee Shop.   

“A couple of things, I guess; They liked the different types of seating,” Roberts said. “We’ve got soft seating and all kinds of different study areas… So, I think just the variety, the additional couple of private study rooms, the layout of the computing area, and of course the coffee shop. Everybody was excited about the Axe Grind and so the new look for the coffee shop there was very attractive.”  

This was the fourth phase of renovations for the library, meaning that other parts of the building were under construction for a brief period of time, and Samford is happy to see everything finished.   

“I think the main thing that I like is that it brings the first floor up to speed with the other floors. It looks a lot more modern, it brings in the current day a lot more,” Samford said. “I think the new furniture, it should have a lot more features to it, more beneficial to the students. I think that a lot of them have… like hooks for your backpacks and some of them have more desk space, for example. As a student worker, it is probably going to be quite nice having the new desk area because it looks a lot nicer and a little bit less cluttered.”  

For Roberts, all the hard work that went into the construction and renovations was paid off when they officially opened the building.  

“On Tuesday, that was the most gratifying thing for me was to finally be able to open the doors, invite the students, the faculty and staff, and the community back in to let them see what’s been going on for a number of months and then to have their very positive response to that was just very gratifying,” Roberts said. “So, (I am) very pleased with the outcome.”