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Joe and Sue Paterno were at the heart of the fund-raising
drive for the Pattee Library expansion, and the addition is being named
for the couple. Their efforts as co-chairs of the committee, plus their
personal donation of $250,000, helped the project become a reality.
Photo: Greg Grieco
State Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer (R-30), left, Gov. Tom Ridge
and President
Graham B. Spanier talk about changes in store for Pattee Library.
Photo: Greg Grieco
When the time came for the beginning of the Paterno Library groundbreaking ceremony April 25, the fine drizzle stopped, the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly on Joe and Sue Paterno, state and University officials and a crowd of 200 or so donors and onlookers on the mall below Pattee Library.
"It's a great day, but it's more than that," Paterno said. "It's the start of making Pattee one of the top 10 libraries."
With its capabilities for housing traditional library materials as well as state-of-the-art information technology, Paterno said the library addition will be a "symbol to the world that Penn State will attain its great destiny. We are determined that Penn State will provide not the 11th best education in the state, nor the sixth best education in the Big Ten, but the very best education to all who want it."
Sue Paterno -- who first met Joe in Pattee Library -- said that the library is more than bricks and mortar. "The library is the heart and soul of the University," she said. "It opens the doors to learning." When the project is complete and the dust subsides, she said, the new library will be "a gracious lady to welcome all to the pursuit of learning."
The Paternos were the headliners at the groundbreaking ceremony, which also included Gov. Tom Ridge; other state and local officials and legislators; President Graham B. Spanier; Board of Trustees President Jesse Arnelle; Gloriana St. Clair, interim dean of the University Libraries; and other campaign supporters.
The $26.5 million Paterno Library project will nearly double the size of Pattee Library and renovate existing space. The five-story expansion, set for completion in fall 1999, will add 110,000 square feet of floor space to the 130,000 square feet in Pattee's west, central and east wings.
The project is being funded by $14.8 million from the state and $11.7 million raised by The Campaign for the Library, co-chaired by the Paternos, who included in their efforts a personal contribution of $250,000.
When complete, the Pattee and Paterno libraries will include subject libraries with specialized holdings in life sciences, humanities, social sciences, business and education, a new library for special collections and the latest in information retrieval and telecommunications technologies.
Ridge said that just as plants need the nurturing touch of the gardener, libraries need the nurturing touch of patrons. "That's where Joe and Sue Paterno stepped in," he said. "For decades, the Paternos have been an important part of the Penn State family. From the gridiron to the classroom, the name Paterno is synonymous with the excellence the world expects from the Nittany Lions, wherever they may be."
Spanier, calling the Paterno Library a significant addition to the campus, the Penn State system, and the entire state, thanked the campaign participants for supporting the expansion and sharing the library's benefits with others. "It is truly a facility for all of the Commonwealth," he said.
Following the ceremony, the Paternos, Ridge, Spanier, Arnelle and St. Clair walked to the construction site near the east wing of Pattee, clambered aboard a piece of heavy equipment, and expertly picked up and dumped several scoops of earth.
