<p>When the clock struck 1 Wednesday afternoon, UF students and faculty were ready. </p>
<p>They were lined up in front of Library West's revolving doors, eager to push through and enter the building for the first time since it closed nearly three years ago. </p>
<p>"It's like the opening of a Macy's, only there are no shoes," yelled a woman as the line rushed through the door. </p>
<p>Escalators brought guests up to the building's second floor while library staff members yelled welcomes from above. Some guests walked directly to the library circulation desk for maps of the vast new building. Others decided to take a guided tour of the library or risked exploring its depths on their own. </p>
<p>A few patrons picked books and DVDs from the stacks and made themselves comfortable among the building's new furniture. </p>
<p>Thaniel Smith, a pre-medical student who had never been inside the library before it underwent renovations, particularly liked plopping down on one of the new beanbag chairs. </p>
<p>"I'm going to be here at least every day, maybe except during the weekends," Smith said with a laugh. </p>
<p>Smith brought her camera and spent much of the time snapping shots of her friends enjoying the opening. </p>
<p>Lauren Thomas, a fourth-year English student, said she thought the modernized library could give the university a better image. Chuckling, she said that she would come into the library, "just to marvel at how beautiful it is." </p>
<p>The $30 million renovations on began in December 2003, and the building itself was completed in late May. Library West's reopening marks the return of a permanent home for UF's humanities and social sciences collections. </p>
<p>"It's good to have an up-to-date library facility that is on par with those at other schools," Thomas said. </p>
<p>Working their way up to the building's higher floors, visitors rode the elevators to the sixth floor, which will eventually be accessible only to graduate students. Those students will be able to swipe their Gator 1 Cards through a slot in the elevator to access the floor. </p>
<p>Graduate student Andrea Wood said she was excited about the sixth floor, adding that the renovated library had much better technology, lighting and furniture than its older incarnation. </p>
<p>"One young lady was just going from one staffer to the next, talking about how she was in such shock and such joy," Covey said. "She was really sorry she was graduating. She would love to spend another year here." </p>
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