ALLEGANY, N.Y. — Construction is beginning this month on the new Paul and Irene Bogoni Rare Books Library, an addition to St. Bonaventure University’s Friedsam Memorial Library.
A $2 million gift from the Bogonis laid the financial foundation for the project. The uniqueness of the University’s Rare Books Collection prompted the initial gift.
Additional gifts for this library addition were received from Leslie C. Quick III and the estate of John R. McGinley Sr., allowing university officials to finalize construction plans. The construction schedule includes a planned hiatus during final exam week in May to minimize noise, said Brenda Snow, SBU’s vice president for business and finance.
“The collection actually consists of nine discrete collections of rare books and manuscripts which had been gathered over more than a century, primarily by past directors and librarians of the Franciscan Institute, said Fr. Michael Cusato, O.F.M., director of the institute.
Detailed information is available on St. Bonaventure’s Web site.