KANE'OHE — Narrow aisles, a leaky roof and conditions so crowded that tutoring is conducted in a building lobby have Windward Community College students blanketing the community and seeking signatures in support of a new library/learning center for the campus.

The present library, built in the 1930s as a hospital ward, is "pretty much a ghetto," said Danielle Borromeo, a Windward social work student.

Gov. Linda Lingle recently released $2.59 million to design the structure, but there's no money to build it, and students say now is the time to push for that.

The cost to build is an estimated $43.2 million.

The library is so crowded that students using computers must sit in an aisle, and anyone in a wheelchair has to interrupt them to get by. Library-use classes are held in the study area, but printer noise and circulation desk activities nearby are a constant distraction.

The Hawaiian section was recently expanded into a closet, and a water fountain is blocked by outdated material stored on a shelf. Compact movable shelves are used in the library, but librarian Nancy Heu considers them hazardous.

When the school opened in 1972 with 535 students, the library was adequate, but with 1,800 attending today, the building is too small, Heu said.

"I try to make it cozy and comfortable," she said. But "it's really not that inviting."

The learning center, computer lab and media center are not any better. They're in separate buildings now but would be housed in the new library/learning center.

Mikki O'Phelan, a student and tutor who gets around in a wheelchair, said tutors are conducting sessions in the lobby of the learning center, where a resource teacher is stationed, and students traverse on their way to classes. Plus, the doors of the two restrooms remain open because they are not handicapped accessible.

O'Phelan said conditions are especially difficult for physically and academically challenged students.

"They feel shame, and sometimes its hard for us to draw them out," she said. "It would be easier in a more private, nurturing situation."

In the computer lab, the roof leaks, the asbestos floors are peeling and 40 percent of the lights don't work, said Michael Tom, assistant professor.

"For sure, learning can take place, but it's not the optimum environment," Tom said.

Students are trying to collect 2,500 signatures on a petition and will take it to legislators, said Ignacio Fleishour, student coordinator.

"We talk about education being important," Fleishour said. "Are we really doing something about that?"

The governor, area legislators and community members have shown their support in the past, devoting millions of dollars to new buildings, and the college is grateful, said Libby Young, a journalism professor.

"But now we need to move on to the next phase — getting the construction funds," Young said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.