Grand Valley State University Dedicates New Library

The beautiful, new, gleaming addition to the Grand Valley State University campus was formally dedicated this week, the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons.  What a spectacular addition to the campus it is.

With all of the library's inovations, this library will change the way students learn and apply what they learn well into the next century.

The new library is named after Mary Idema Pew, who was a trailblazer with a lifelong passion for education. Her late husband, Robert C. Pew, one of Grand Valley’s founders and an early Board of Control member, generously provided the lead gift that was the catalyst for this project. Their daughter, Kate Pew Wolters, currently serves on Grand Valley’s Board of Trustees. At the dedication she talked about how, during her first tour of the completed library, she had to keep her jaw from dropping and repeatedly saying “oh wow!”

Librarians from other universities across the state have said Grand Valley has the best academic library in the country, and high school academic counselors have said they got it absolutely right. The library is a world class facility that will attract gifted and affluent students to Grand Valley.

A Community Open House is planned for this Saturday, September 7, from 1-5 p.m. This family-friendly event is open to the public and will include a technology showcase, refreshments, a jazz musician, magic shows, and a scavenger hunt in the library with prizes awarded at each station.