Renovation of the Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) campus has reached a new phase of construction. Excavation for the new building that will house the Fordham Law School as well as student dormitories has been completed and construction workers are now laying the building’s foundation. Major changes are also being made to Quinn Library, as new compact shelving and seating arrangements are being put in place in preparation for the Law School Library that will take its place in 2014.

Parts of Quinn’s shelving has been sectioned off with tape and carpeting has been ripped out the floor to be replaced. But Dr. Brian J. Byrne, vice president of FCLC assures that despite Quinn’s unsightly appearance, the changes being made will highly benefit students in the future and that construction is done during the summer when it has a lower effect on library patrons.

“The idea is to give Quinn a new, reconfigured, more congenial home that will be above the grain,” Byrne said. The compact shelving has largely facilitated library storage since Fordham first installed it seven years ago. It increases Quinn’s capacity to hold books by 75 percent per square foot. Therefore, “the disruption is necessary.”

Construction in Quinn began last summer as new lights were put in to better match the new compact shelving. More compact shelving has slowly been installed since, and reading areas are now being changed to specifically aid study group sessions. “The nature of the library world has changed,” said Robert S. Allen, head of access services at Quinn. “It’s no longer a place that’s just to house books. It’s a place for activity and for intellectual discussion.”

In reaction to the noise problems resulting from the construction, both Quinn and the Law Library have made special concessions to students. “[W]e’ve actually been providing ear plugs to all the students throughout the summer,” said Nick Alongi, reference librarian. He also says they have been directing students to other quieter facilities such as the AV Room, the Law School Library, and informing students when construction ends during the day. “We get a lot of people coming in later in the day because they know it’s going to be quiet.”

The Law School library has made provisions of their own, as they connected with area law schools such as Columbia University, New York University, New York Law School and John Jay College to allow Fordham law students use their libraries during finals and bar exams.

Construction for the new building in Loweinstein’s outdoor plaza has also changed plans for orientation, according to Nusrat S. Jahan, FCLC ’13 orientation coordinator. “[W]e’ve had to rework small groups. It’s going to be a bit difficult to work around the circle being cut in half.” She explained that activities for incoming students will be spread out to less used areas such as the green space between Lowenstein and McMahon Hall.

Alexa Rodriguez, FCLC ’13, also an orientation coordinator, said that constrution did not affect orientation in the negative way they anticipated.

“It seemed like it was going to affect us a great deal, but then we started looking at other spaces we could use,” Rodriguez said. “Now we are looking at the entrance by Columbus to space out.”

Even with the clamor of the renovations, many on campus say the noise has been bearable.

“I haven’t heard anything recently,” Giovanna Monteapone, FCLC ’12, said. “I feel like construction has been pretty quiet.”

Furthermore, school officials claim that the worst of the noise problems are over now that excavation is complete. Byrne explained that the only noise that Quinn library patrons may hear this fall are the occasional sounds of steel beams hitting one another as the frame for the new building.

Allen expressed the pains that come along with change on the FCLC campus, and said, “It’s a big challenge. It’s a difficult time to go to Fordham. We’re doing our best to make it presentable.”