Bloomfield College News & Events

Bloomfield College is pleased to announce that its new library on Liberty Street and Oakland Avenue in Bloomfield opened its doors in late August, just prior to the start of fall classes. This state-of-the-art facility has been designed to house 130 personal computers and will be a tremendous resource to the College’s 2000 students and the community. The building’s computer lab will soon be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“It seems like only yesterday when the quality of a library was measured in terms of its collection,” said Bloomfield College President John F. Noonan.

The library is equipped with a river of 300 ports of Internet access, interactive classrooms, a media center, computer center and an electronic reference collection. Books, print and digital collections provide access to information and databases worldwide. Members of the College community broke ground for the library in the spring of 1999, and the completed facility has surpassed all expectations according to President Noonan.

“We started out to build a library, but what we got was a spaceship that will take our students and neighbors around the world in their quest for knowledge,” said President Noonan. “Thanks to the million dollars worth of electronics in the new library, Bloomfield College students have access to the same knowledge resources that students at Harvard have.”

The two-story brick structure is the first new building on campus in 30 years. The new $7 million, 30,000-square foot building more than doubles the space of the previous library, Talbott Hall. The exterior façade was chosen to complement the local character and includes

features that reflect those of the historic neighborhood. The library’s exterior design includes gables, a tower, dormers, and relief space. The windows are residential in scale and are in keeping with the character of Oakland Avenue.

As students, faculty, and neighbors are discovering, the library is a very user-friendly facility. Study rooms encourage collaborative learning by providing an avenue for exchange without disturbing others. With comfortable seating and bright rooms, the new library is an attractive and pleasant place to study. In keeping with the relaxed nature of the new facility, there is an area for vending machines for refreshments.

“This is a phenomenal piece of architecture. My dreams have come true,” said Library Director Danilo Figueredo. “It is truly an inspiring sight to see this building start from a hole in the ground and work its way up to a magnificent work of art.”

Founded in 1868, Bloomfield College is an independent, four-year co-educational institution offering programs in the liberal arts and professional studies. For more than 130 years, Bloomfield College has provided educational opportunities for first-generation college students and students whose circumstances and needs threaten to exclude them from higher education. The College has gained national recognition for its academic and co-curricular programs and for its leadership role in multicultural education. In 1999, more than 50 countries of birth were represented in a student body of 2,000.

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