The Del Mar College White Library is edging closer to completion as crews work to finish in time for its tentative opening in Spring 2025. Cody Gregg, Dean of Learning Resources, has headed up the reconstruction of the White Library, and gave a tour to show off the progress made since construction began in early 2022. Most of the construction is finished, and workers are putting together furniture and laying out each room according to posted floor plans.

Each floor has had an overhaul. The fifth floor has been redesigned to provide a 360-degree panoramic view of the city. Those with vertigo might want to give it a pass.

The fourth floor is home to one of the more interesting additions, with soundproofed recording rooms capable of recording with just the touch of a button. Gregg hopes the rooms will give the opportunity for teachers to record lessons, as well as student opportunities to record themselves for assignments in a quiet, private setting. The new Maker’s Space with 3D printers, laser cutter, serger and other equipment will open approximately six months after the library’s grand opening.

The study rooms will undergo a change as well, as group study rooms will no longer be first-come, first-serve, and will now utilize an online reservation system.

“The problem was that individual students were taking up group study rooms,” Gregg said.

To help ensure every student feels comfortable, the furniture throughout the building has changed as well. The desks are gone, and in their place are privacy nooks scattered throughout the building. Gregg hopes that this will mitigate the study room issue and give the students a better sense of privacy. Most of the furniture throughout the library now has charging ports for your devices. Even the children’s section is getting new furniture.

“Choosing the furniture to fit the needs of the students and the space,” Gregg said. “I think those individual study pods are an example of that. It’s a space where a student can go and be alone and get the quiet that they need.”

Many Del Mar services are being consolidated to the library, including the testing center, which will now be on the third floor of the library as opposed to across the street from Heritage Campus. The new testing center is a labyrinth of rooms and corridors, but the area has built in kiosks where workers will be able to assist students during operating hours, and combination lockers for students to securely store their property while taking an exam.

“We tried to bring in other student services into the library,” Gregg said. “It’s really about consolidating services so it’s more convenient for students, so they don’t have to do the ping ponging around campus.”

Those looking for the art that used to be on the fifth floor will now find it on the second, inside of an updated gallery setting with modern arthouse lighting. Gregg hopes the move will encourage people to check out the gallery.

“That was the idea of moving it onto the second floor,” Gregg said. “So, it would be accessible, people would see it, and they would want to go there.”

The White Library should open at the beginning of the Spring 2025 semester, with a grand opening to be announced at a later date.