The ceremony starts at noon in a tent near the Kirkhof Center, where GVSU President Thomas J. Haas, Provost Gayle R. Davis and Shaping our Future campaign co-chairs Jim and Donna Brooks and Dan DeVos will make remarks.

Kate Pew Wolters, chair of GVSU’s Board of Trustees, will speak on behalf of her family and more specifically her mother, for whom the building is named.

“I am particularly inspired with the example set by Kate Pew Wolters and her father along with other donors and our Board of Trustees in the confidence they have shown in Grand Valley and in future generations of students who will take their leadership around the country and world,” Haas said.

The new library will provide approximately 1,500 seats for student study, 20 group study rooms and offices and support areas for faculty and staff members. There will be room for 150,000 books on shelves and another 600,000 books in an automated storage/retrieval system.

“The Mary Idema Pew Learning and Information Commons will be the library and learning center of the future,” Haas said. “It will enable student success while at Grand Valley and provide learning skills for a lifetime in work, family and community.”

More than 530 donors have contributed almost $20.5 million to the project, but there still remains $4.5 million to raise.

Lee Van Orsdel, dean of University Libraries, maintained that this ground breaking will be a pivotal moment for GVSU.

“Students have waited a long time for this dream — a library built for them with space, furnishings, resources and experts to help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the classroom now and in their careers later,” he said. “It will also be a moment to celebrate the tremendous support this project has received from the donors whose generosity made it possible for the University to take this great step forward. And lastly, it will be a celebration of the University itself and of its 50th year of striving to provide the very best possible learning environments for our students.”

The Zumberge Library on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus was built in 1969 for the projected student body of just 5,000. Today, almost 25,000 students attend GVSU and the need for a larger learning space quickly became undeniable.

The Pew Library and Learning Commons is set to open in the fall of 2013.

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