Recently, it has been easy to see a construction site when entering the front gate of the university, and students have been frequently filing complaints about the inconvenience caused by the continuous construction going on at our university. Do you know what is currently being built? It is the ‘new’ library. It is being built for CNU students because the existing library lacks space and is lagging behind in terms of digitization. So, once the construction is complete, the ‘new’ library, a multipurpose cultural facility, will have many uses.

  The new library, located in the square space of the current library, will be completed in 2019. Chungnam National University has invested a total of 26.3 billion won in the new library, and the total floor space will be 12,000㎡. It will be a multipurpose cultural facility, utilizing the basement floors and the ground floor of the existing library. On the first basement floor, there will be a multimedia room, a book cafe, a seminar room, an audiovisual room, and an education room. A reading room, a general reading room, and group study rooms will be constructed on the second basement floor.

  The new library is absolutely necessary. According to CNU President Oh Deok-seong, “The library at Chungnam National University has performed its role well for 35 years, but in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution, local people and university students have raised the need for a new library, so we have decided to build one.” He also said that it will become representative of educational infrastructure in Daejeon.

  Remodeling an old library also has many advantages and is very significant. For example, the problem concerning the lack of space will be solved, and if a room for preserving books is built on the second basement floor, approximately 100,000 books can be stored there. Also, we can raise CNU’s status to a higher level by building the new library without destroying the original library. This is because the traditional architecture of the old library and the state-of-the-art architecture of the new library will coexist in one place.

  Finally, the new library is being built to improve school life and for the convenience of CNU students. It will enhance the functions of the existing library. Also, unlike the current library, which is open to everyone, the new library will only be open to CNU students and personnel, so you can utilize the library more efficiently than before. Therefore, I would like to ask for a lot of interest, and please make much use of the new library as a multipurpose cultural facility.