Progress continues on Library and Learning Center at College of the Mainland

As the College has grown over the years, its existing Learning Resource Center on campus no longer met student demand or needs. This new and modern building and expansion also allows the public community college to create additional classroom space for new academic programs while setting the stage for a new campus vision.

This project is the first recommendation to come out of a master plan created by CannonDesign in 2022. The four-story building will have a modernized two-story library that includes solo study spaces, areas that support neurodiversity and family-friendly spaces for a student who may need to take a child along to study or for local families with visit and use its resources.

It will house 24 classrooms and office space for new academic programs in humanities subjects, adult education and social and behavioral sciences. It will also have a 299-seat tiered auditorium for performances, presentations and lectures and a student lounge and collaboration space.

The new building, slated for completion in Fall 2027, will be located in a more accessible part of the campus and become a new ‘front door’ of COM, with two entrances: a public entry along the street and a campus entry that helps frame and define the central campus quad.

“The front entry is designed to be more evocative of a civic building, as College of the Mainland is ‘the community’s college. The Library and Learning Center is meant to be a community resource, not just a college resource,” said Michael Corb, design principal on the project.

The double-height lobby is where the student and community populations can mix, also enforcing the building as a social space on campus. College of the Mainland has a student population of about 5,000, with a mix of full-time and part-time students.

“This building represents the very best of what a community college can offer: access to knowledge, spaces for collaboration, and pathways for opportunity,” said Dr. Warren Nichols, retired and former president of COM, at the building’s groundbreaking ceremony. “It will serve generations of students, providing the resources they need to learn and succeed in the ever-changing world.”