The dedication ceremony for the new library at the USC Beaufort South Campus will be held from 10 a.m. to noon May 12. The event is free and open to the public

The third academic building to open on the South Campus, the 100,000 volume capacity library boasts an entirely wireless environment with state-of-art videoconferencing, electronic classroom, distance education, and library technology. The new library is also one of the few academic libraries on the eastern seaboard to be equipped with the Checkpoint Intelligent Library System. The system, based on radio frequency identification (RIFD) technology, allows simultaneous multiple item check out, automatic check ins, and instant location of items that have been incorrectly shelved.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new library will be performed by four donors to the facility. Mr. and Mrs. William Bonneville donated an extraordinary collection of photographs, postcards, and artifacts from the days of Custer's Last Stand. Mr. and Mrs. John Castles have donated their family's collection of rare books, including a Samuel Johnson Dictionary of the English Language, dating from 1795; the Oxford English Dictionary dating from 1928; anthropological texts; and extensive material on the War Between the States. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hartung have donated the funding for the cyber cafe within the library, named the Hawk's Nest for Mr. Hartung's favorite hang-out from his college days. Ongoing support for the library and the University as a whole has been received from the Heritage Classic Foundation, which also funded the display cases housing the new collections.

Designed by Watson Tate Savory Architects of Columbia, the nearly 25,000 square foot building features a centrally located Information Commons, which is a research and reference area containing 30 computer tables and carrels where students and other library patrons may access the library's online catalog, search electronic databases, and connect to the Internet. Other library facilities include a foreign language lab, an early childhood education lab, a rare books room, and faculty carrels.

The dedication ceremony will include a welcome address by Jane T. Upshaw, USC Beaufort chancellor; an invocation given by Kenneth Doe, pastor of Bethesda Temple of St. Joseph's Church; dedication remarks by Weston Newton, chairman of Beaufort County Council; George Hood, chairman of Jasper County Council; and USC President Andrew Sorensen. The ribbon cutting will follow.

For more information, call the USC Beaufort Office of Public Information at 843-521-3113.

5/06