Events & Photos
Dedication of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library June 3, 2012
To the Album
Flash mob celebrating the opening of the renovated Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library, University of Haifa On June 7, 2012 the core floor of the library was officially opened to the public following nearly two years of extensive renovation with impressive results. The library’s new entrance, adjacent to the Main Building’s entrance on the 700 level, leads to a vast open space where the library’s core services are centralized: circulation, reference, reserves, media, and photocopy services. The renovation enabled concentration of the libraries intensively used and special collections on one floor and near service desks: the Hebrew journal collection, video, music CDs and multimedia,
psychological and other assessment tools. The enlarged space provides hundreds of seats for individual study, computer workstations, viewing and listening stations, and conference rooms for group study and teaching. Stairs and bridges connect the central floor to the book collections (North Wing) and the recently built library extension (South Wing)and group study rooms, the foreign print journal collection and reading room, an auditorium and offices.
Inauguration of the Library's New Wing May 31 2011
Inauguration of the new wing of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library video
The University inaugurated its new wing in the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library on Tuesday,
May 31, 2011, adding an area of 48,000 square feet.
The inauguration ceremony was held during the events of the University’s 39th Meeting of
the Board of Governors and was attended by Younes and Soraya Nazarian,whose donation
has enabled the construction of the new wing.
The University of Haifa’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is home to 2.3 million items
and is the largest academic library in Israel. Over time, the building, which was planned
over 30 years ago across 120,000 square feet, became cramped with the growing range of books,
journals, multimedia materials, etc. About four years ago, the University began building the new
Library wing, according to a plan drawn up by architect Asaf Lerman.
The unique plan set out to build the new wing alongside the existing Library in the space between it
and the University's main street. In order to do so, deep excavations
had to be carried out.
“It’s incredible how just four years ago, we stood twenty meters above where we stand today,”
explained Vice President for Administration, who headed the entire project.
“The hard work to make this happen was guided by the University’s engineer and Head of
Building and Maintenance at the University, Nabi Amar; and I am happy to say that even as all of the construction was going on, the Library continued to provide its full services to students and researchers,” he said.
The new wing, which is entirely below street level, contains offices, reading rooms, collections
and even an auditorium, and will soon include a cafeteria. Although the structure itself is underground,
the unique plan enabled the construction of an open patio that resembles a city boulevard offering seating areas and gardens, so that students can take a break from their reading and step out for a refreshing break in the open air, quiet and green space. The next phase will will include renovation of the existing library building.
Cornerstone laid for new wing of University Library Jun. 2007
At a festive ceremony, Mr. Younes Nazarian laid the cornerstone for a new wing of the University of Haifa library, which will be built with a generous donation from Younes and his wife Soraya. The 7 million donation will enable the construction of a new wing of the library.
Before the ceremony, the Nazarians were led on a emotionally moving tour of the library, during which they strolled around the shelves and among an exhibit of books that depict different periods in Mr. Nazarian's life and his interests.
The couple's love of music was brought to life by musicians who filled the halls of the library with beautiful melodies.
The biggest surprise was one of the 2 million items in the library collection – an archive photo of the Sha'ar Ha'aliya camp in Haifa, Mr. Nazarian's first stop when he arrived in Israel in 1948.
Speaking to the guests, Mr. Nazarian thanked the University of Haifa for staging such a moving event and pledged that this is only the beginning of the relationship between his familyand the University .