College of the Canyons officially welcomed its newest addition to the Valencia campus during a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday.

The library expansion includes two components: expanding the library from 25,000 square feet to 35,000 square feet and expanding The Learning Center, or TLC, which has been moved from a 5,000-square-foot facility to a 41,000-square-foot space adjacent to the newly expanded library.

The expansion is funded in part by the $160 million bond measure, Measure M, approved by voters in 2006, as well as additional state funding.

College administrators began planning for the expansion more than 10 years ago to meet the demands of a growing student population.

“Over the last few years the free computer workstations and the free study rooms in the library have been packed,” said James Glapa-Grossklag, Dean of Education Technology.

The library expansion includes ten group study rooms with flat screen monitors, a children’s reading corner, an Information Commons area that increased the number of computer workstations from 45 to 100, plus an increased the number of spaces available for student artwork displays.

The TLC offers students academic tutoring in subjects such as math, English, science and foreign language.

“Simply put, the old 5,000-square-foot previous home of the TLC was full,” said Glapa-Grossklag. “Last spring the TLC served students for a total of 32,500 hours. That’s equivalent to 1,354 days. The TLC served students the equivalent of 3.7 years in one semester. That was a 30-percent increase in the past two years.

The new facility increases tutoring space more than 300 percent. It also includes seven group study rooms with flat screen monitors and webcams, a dedicated space for accelerated math and English programs, plus eight interactive whiteboards and more.