From the moment it opened at 8 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2008, the Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library has been the center of student life at Cal State Monterey Bay.

Library at a glance The Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library is at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Divarty Street, with parking accessible from Divarty. Ways to help • To buy a book for the library from its wish list, visit the Alumni "giving back" page. • Naming opportunities still exist for library spaces. Contact Executive Director of University Development Mike Mahan at 582-3366 or mmahan@csumb.edu. Hours and parking • During the school year, the library is open 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday; and 2 p.m. to midnight on Sunday. • Hours vary during finals, the summer and holidays. A schedule is available at the CSUMB library page. • Public visitors must purchase a parking pass from machines on the lots. Cost is 50 cents per hour.

Having watched construction for two years, students lined up to get their first look inside the 136,000-square-foot structure. They rolled through the doors in numbers that shattered records at the old library. Those numbers have been climbing ever since.

The library features three classrooms, two auditoriums, 11 group study areas (that can be reserved online), multimedia equipment and an area designated for lessons in information literacy, along with the stacks of books, periodicals and electronic information.

A café and lounge spaces are also part of the building. In addition, the university’s information technology Help Desk provides realtime tech support to library users.

It is also home to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center, the University Writing Program, the Academic Skills Achievement Center and the Student Success Center.

“We talk about the library as the ‘living room’ of the university,” said library director Bill Robnett. “It’s the intersection of campus life.”

With a three-story atrium, the building feels expansive. Students can check out laptops and are encouraged to rearrange furniture to suit their needs. The library is also active at night, as both a social hangout and a place to study.

“We have people who seem to live here all the time,” Robnett said. It is especially beneficial for commuter students.

Some faculty members maintain office hours in the library, and staff members hold meetings there. The café is a popular place for those purposes.

When asked about his “wish list,” Robnett doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“An endowment to support the academic collection is an urgent need,” he said. “When I say ‘collection,’ I mean all kinds of formats, not just books. We want to get into more multiple-platform content.”

Many students are pleased with the library just the way it is.

“The other library – we’d go in there to study and it was dark and uninviting,” said junior Madison Gipe. “This one is really geared for students. And they serve the best coffee. I’m in here nearly every day.”