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Saturday, January 23, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Flaw may stall library opening
UNLV's Lied Library needs extra support for two floors that will hold densely packed special materials.
By Natalie Patton
Review-Journal
A snub from state budget makers isn't the only problem confronting UNLV's new library. Engineering troubles plague the massive $40 million structure, as well.
Kenneth Marks, dean of libraries at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Friday that additional steel beams must be added to fortify the five-story structure, which is under construction on the Maryland Parkway campus.
That work is under way and efforts are being made to keep the Lied Library project on track for a scheduled January 2000 opening, said Patrick Batte, a project manager for the State Public Works Board who is helping oversee the project.
The second and third stories are too weak to support the weight of compressed library shelving that will be used to store government documents and special collections in a more space-efficient manner, Marks said.
The second and third floors "require double the weight load," he said.
Batte said 20 beams, most of which are 28 feet in length, will be added to reinforce 4,000 square feet on those two floors.
Who will pay for the extra steel and labor remains in dispute, he said, declining to estimate the cost of the work.
"We're not talking about a lot of money," he said.
Architects and engineers, who say they were not told about the need to support additional weight, are arguing with library staff members over who is to blame, Batte said.
"We're looking at several issues," he said. "Why wasn't it part of the original design? Did the library staff give the architects all the information? Right now we're in somewhat of a paper chase."
The problems, first noticed in November, could cause a delay in the library's opening, so library staff members are gearing up for everything from the scheduled January 2000 debut to an opening "several months into the year," Marks said.
Meanwhile, university leaders are trying to persuade state lawmakers to set aside $1.6 million to provide additional staffing and pay for utilities and other maintenance costs tied to the library's first six months of operation.
The additional funding, which would cover expenses from January through June 2000, was left out of Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget request. Funding is provided in the second year of the budget for what will become the largest public building in Nevada.
The 301,000-square-foot building, with its five-story atrium, will be taller and larger than the campus' Thomas & Mack Center, where basketball and special events are held. The library will have room for 1.8 million books.
Much of the building's steel frame is uncovered, so Batte said the reinforcement work will be less complicated than it could have been had the building been near completion.
"At this point the contractor has not requested a delay, so we're on schedule," he said.
John Amend, UNLV's associate vice president for administration, said he is confident the library will open a year from now.
"We've got to get in there," he said.
Amend said he had "no idea" how much the steel and labor will cost. "I know we're not paying for anything," he said about UNLV's role in the problems.
The library is expected to be ready for the move-in phase in December 1999, when conversion work is expected to begin in the currently used Dickinson Library, the future home of Boyd Law School.
The private Lied Foundation is paying for $15 million of the Lied Library's construction costs.
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A worker moves across the roof at UNLV's new Lied Library on Friday. The 301,000-square-foot building has a five-story atrium.Photo by Clint Karlsen.
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