Miller Nichols Library Expansion

At the heart of UMKC’s Volker Campus — both physically and philosophically — is Miller Nichols Library. The library expansion is the key foundational element for UMKC to realize its subsequent goals. The expansion project will enhance library resources, centralize student educational services and provide new classrooms — and comfortable study spaces — for an expanding student body. In fact, the library’s expansion is a key element in UMKC’s plan to increase enrollment.

Impact

• This project benefits a major transformation in learning that has characterized higher education in recent years. It enhances electronic capabilities and creates additional classrooms and workspaces for group-based learning and projects.
• When it opened in 1969, the three-floor facility served a student population of 6,000. Today, the library strives to meet the needs of more than 14,000 students — with more on the way. The project will accommodate a 23 percent increase in enrollment without adding classrooms elsewhere on the main campus. It is the most cost-effective financial strategy for UMKC’s growth.
• Among its many functions, the library serves as the hub of learning activities for students and surrounding residents. For many urban students, this is their first contact with a large reference library, the UMKC campus and the dream of a higher education.

Cost

$65 – $75 million

Private funding: $20 million

University funding: $45 – $55 million

Fast Facts

• Phase I of the construction project began in the spring of 2008, and it will provide an automated high-density storage and retrieval system—a robot. This space-efficient system will relocate thousands of volumes of the library’s current collections, thereby freeing up space for more students to use for study and meeting space. But, many thousands of books will remain on traditional shelves. Renovations to the building exterior will feature durable, low-maintenance materials, such as limestone and metal screens.
• Phase II will include the construction of classrooms, seminar rooms, a 300-seat lecture hall, and a large open space for gathering and collaborative learning.
• Phase III will include the renovation of the existing structure to add over 40 new group study rooms, a greatly expanded information commons, computing areas, and renovated parking. The Writing Center and Center for Academic Development will relocate to the library, Special Collections and Marr Sound Archives will relocate to the third floor, and the Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching will move to the second floor.
• Designated areas will eventually remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.