'Wallbreaking' marks start of library renovations

University officials and alumni donned suits, hard hats and sledgehammers Friday afternoon as they bashed in a wall in Van Pelt Library. Champagne was served following the "wallbreaking" ceremony, which was held in honor of the alumni classes and individuals who are funding the renovation of the Lippincott section of the library. Officials called the breaking down of the wall a symbol of the University's entrance into the future of research technology. Wharton sophomore Jacob Safra and his cousin, Wharton graduate student Ezra Safra, were the first to take a swing at the wall. Their family donated the Safra Business Research Center that will be installed in Lippincott. Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity described the center as the "cornerstone on which all future library research will be built." Development Associate Director Selden Smith said he expects the center to be completed in the spring. 1957 Wharton graduate Edward Allinson said he decided to donate money for "emotional" reasons. Standing in a hard hat amidst the drifting plaster fibers helped to renew his loyalty to the school. Like Allinson, 1939 College graduate Richard Magaziner, who also received an MBA from Wharton in 1947, said he donated money for emotional reasons as well. As a Wharton grad student, Magaziner met his wife in Lippincott, where she was working her way through college. Smith, hacking out a good part of the wall after the ceremony, said the alumni participation in the project is very promising. "We have high hopes and huge amounts of donors," he said. Paul Mosher, vice provost and director of libraries, said the renovated library will contain both books and a technologically advanced electronic library. The revamping of Lippincott is only the first phase of the renovations, according to Library Development Director Adam Corson-Finnerty. The entire plan requires the renovation of all six floors of the library within the next seven years. The first phase alone is estimated to cost $7.5 million. The University was not given any federal money so the entire project will be sponsored by alumni donations. Corson-Finnerty said the University has already raised $5.7 million. He added that he is certain the extra fund raising will be successful because "the University wants us to succeed." The library will be open through all the renovations, but parts will be consolidated. A dedication ceremony for Lippincott will be held sometime in the spring.