Melissa halterman/Arizona Daily Wildcat Melissa Fischer, media arts senior, shelves books in the library of the new Poetry Center on East First Street Tuesday afternoon. The Poetry Center will hold its grand opening Jan. 23 from 5pm to 8pm.

Even though the Poetry Center's new location isn't as cozy as their old cottage at 1216 N. Cherry Ave., the staff is trying its best to make it as comfortable and accommodating for its guests as it was before.

"What we may have lost in charm we'll make up for in efficiency and better working conditions for the staff," Gail Browne, executive director, said.

After having its three buildings torn down to make room for an expansion on the University Medical Center, the Poetry Center has moved to another temporary location at 1600 E. First St.

Browne hopes the final site for the Poetry Center will be completed in 18 months to two years from now.

The Poetry Center has a building budget of $5.8 million for its new location. It received $1.9 million in university support and raised $2.3 million in fund- raising events so far.

Christine Krikliwy, program coordinator and a UA public health graduate student, said although it's still a temporary place, she is happy all the employees are finally in one building together.

The biggest challenge in moving will be communicating to the general public that it's changed locations, Browne said. She hopes because they are closer to campus now, they can get more students to spend time at the Poetry Center.

Krikliwy said she liked the old location better because she found it homier.

"The smaller buildings were more hospitable and friendly, but we have so many books. They really needed the bigger space so people don't have to special request them," librarian Timothy Bell said.

In the old cottage, the Poetry Center was able to hold about 20,000 books on the shelves; now it is able to display at least 27,000 books. These numbers are small in comparison to the 40,000 books they have that only the new location will be able to display.

Browne expects the permanent site to be big enough to expand the archive over the next 30 years. There will also be larger meeting spaces, more places for activities and a residence to house visiting writers.

"Our vision for the new Poetry Center continues to be the creation of a truly exceptional space that will establish UA as the preeminent literary destination in the United States," Browne said.

The Poetry Center was founded in 1960 by Ruth Stephan and has continued to be an important cultural institution for this campus and the state of Arizona, Browne said.

Bell said there is nothing else comparable to it in the state. He said it's really unique and he feels privileged to be a part of it.

"In a world in which the arts sometimes compete with the sciences and technology for funding and focus, it says a lot for the UA that we have prioritized this institution," Browne said.

Frances Sjoberg, literary director, said the main goal of the Poetry Center is twofold: "to acquire an archive and to provide access to new trends andmovements in contemporary poetry through our outreach programs."

The Poetry Center offers a variety of classes, programs, workshops and awards to high school and college students, the public and now even preschoolers.

The awards offered include The Bilingual Corrido Contest for high school students statewide, an undergraduate contest each fall and a student contesteach spring judged by a nationally distinguished poet for UA students and a summer residency program for emerging poets, Sjoberg said.

"The community classes increase the opportunity for local poets to teach what they know and for the public to access the expertise of some of our localartists," she said.

There is also the Visiting Poets and Writers Reading Series that features six to nine poets each semester from all over the country, and some international guests as well, Sjoberg said.

"The reading series is a tremendous value because of its diversity," Browne said.

Krikliwy said the Poetry Center has a variety of visitors who come for research or just to hang out in between classes.

"It is the largest collection of contemporary poets in the United States. It's a great resource for not only our students but for scholars around the world," Browne said.