The $43.5-million Information Center is a high-tech facility containing a 140,000-sf library and a 2,500-sf Information Technology Center. The Technology Center brings together campus computing, media, and telecommunication services that were previously spread among several buildings. Self-instructional computer labs provide access to networks, distributed databases, computer graphics, spreadsheets, and other general purpose computing functions for students and faculty.

The building houses a 950,000-volume collection with half the volumes shelved in open stacks. Unique to Sonoma State University is the Automated Retrieval System (ARS), a computer-operated storage and retrieval system for the remaining 450,000 volumes, stored in more than 6,000 bins, with each bin holding up to 750 pounds. The ARS can store up to seven times the amount of traditional open shelving. Only three other universities in the country use the ARS: California State University, Northridge; the University of Eastern Michigan; and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Requests for a book in the ARS system can be made from any computer terminal. A robotic arm within the ARS retrieves the storage bin containing the requested, bar-coded book and delivers it to a pick-up station. Library personnel then send the book to either the first or second floor circulation desk via an automated electric track vehicle system that travels throughout the building. In as little as 10 minutes, a student can pick up the requested book from the circulation desk. The ARS increases storage capacity and prolongs the life of the books.

A new, user-friendly integrated library catalog system is named "Snoopy" in honor of Jean and Charles Schulz, who donated $3 million to the operation of the building. Snoopy's multi-tiered client/server architecture offers a Web-based approach to system design--enabling the library to provide powerful connections, extensive search capabilities, and ease of use. Users can perform online searches from anywhere on or off campus.

There are approximately 4,000 jacks throughout the building that can be configured for voice, data, or video. The building is also set up for wireless Internet use. Accessible raceways embedded within the floor slabs, know as an "electrified floor system," provide for future connections and power.

The building also symbolizes a unique partnership between SSU and the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. In exchange for the district's $5-million contribution to construction costs, the Information Center is electronically linked to Cotati-Rohnert Park schools, operating as a telecommunications hub for both the campus and the school district. Other partnerships include supporting K-12 school librarians through the North Bay Cooperative Library System, delivering books and other materials to the libraries that belong to the system in the six-county region. Through the Sonoma County Office of Education, SSU will instruct teachers on using the Internet as a teaching resource.

The Information Center includes an art gallery and the Charlie Brown Café, more than 1,000 reader seats, automatic sliding glass entry doors, automated security systems, moveable walls for added flexibility, an interactive video conference room, extensive 24-hour computer labs for students, and meets Seismic Zone 4 requirements.

The Schulz Information Center is one of several projects SSU has undertaken as part of its seven-year building plan. Already completed are Sauvignon Village, a $21-million apartment complex housing 900 students, a $650,000 Environmental Technology Center, and a $15-million renovation to the Salazar Building, which previously housed the campus library and is now being converted to classrooms and offices. Future projects include a world-class music center with a 1,400-seat concert hall and a $40-million University Center. SSU currently has an enrollment of 7,400 students and anticipates that number to grow to 8,000 in the next 10 years.

Project Information
Building Owner:		Sonoma State University
Owner Contact:		Bruce Walker, Facilities Architect
Building Location:		Rohnert Park, CA UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction
Principal Building Function:		Library and Technology Center
Project Delivery Method:		General Contractor
Project Timeline		Aug 1992 Planning Start Oct 1992 Design Start May 1998 Construction Start Aug 2000 Target Completion Last known status: Construction
Project Cost:		$43,500,000
Construction Cost:		$35,400,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$162
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Computers Data Center Dining Education Education: Classroom Library
Total GSF:		215,000
Total NSF:		157,893
Efficiency:		73%
Building Population:		2599
People Density:		83 gsf/person
Special Equip:		Automatic Retrieval System and Electric Track Vehicle System
Office Size:		110-200 NSF
Power Req:		10 watts/nsf
HVAC Req:		1 cfm/nsf
Structure/Foundation:		Moment resisting steel frame with concrete on metal decks and concrete slab on grade. At the Automatic Retrieval System area, a concrete mat foundation over concrete driven piles was utilized.
Laboratory Parameters
Casework Mat'l:		Modular plastic laminated casework and custom wood casework with agglomerated marble tops
Project Team
Builder		McCarthy Building Companies Inc.
Consultant - MEP Engineer		Flack & Kurtz Consulting Engineers
Profile Created 07/01/2001
Last Updated 04/04/2006
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.