UNLV will open the $55.3 million, 302,000-square-foot Lied Library on Jan. 8, signaling a significant academic advance for the university.

"With the opening of the Lied Library, UNLV will have one of the most technically sophisticated university libraries in the United States," said university President Carol C. Harter. "UNLV students, university faculty, and members of the community all will benefit by having access to this excellent facility.

"Additionally, the Lied Library will serve as another step forward in UNLV's quest to become a top-tier national university," she said. "First the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching moves UNLV up into the category of Doctoral/Research Universities -- Intensive and now we open this jewel of a library. The 2000-01 academic year will go down as a banner year for UNLV.

"I want to once again thank the Lied Foundation Trust and its trustee, Christina Hixson, and the Nevada Legislature for their financial support of this momentous project," Harter said.

The five-story Lied Library features hundreds of computer work stations; the much-talked about Lied Automated Storage and Retrieval (LASR) System, which provides high-density, on-site storage for less frequently used items that will be retrieved within minutes by a robotic crane; an information commons featuring 96 personal computers; and a number of group study rooms -- some equipped to receive film or audio transmissions.

A dedication ceremony and reception for the Lied Library are scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 20. Members of the public are encouraged to attend this free event.

The dedication ceremony, which will include presentations by Harter and UNLV dean of libraries Ken Marks, will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the library. Following the ceremony, people attending the event may take guided tours of the library led by UNLV library personnel and student ambassadors or may walk through the library on their own. Musical entertainment and light refreshments will be provided.

Hixson said she is pleased the Lied Foundation, which donated $15 million to launch the project, was able to help finance this project that will benefit so many people in the state of Nevada.

Marks said that as dean of libraries he believes the importance of the Lied Library to UNLV and to Southern Nevada cannot be overstated.

"A library is arguably the most important building at any university, as academics are the essence of every university's mission," Marks said. "In the Lied Library, we at UNLV have a real treasure."

The library was designed by Welles/Pugsley Architects of Las Vegas and Leo A Daly Architects of Omaha, Neb., and built by Tibesar Construction Co.