On the second level, the construction crews are preparing “the Vault” and Special Collections and University Archives Suite and Processing Area as a top priority for finishing. Between cabinetry, carpet, lighting, and paint, these areas of the library are starting to resemble the final version. Once these spaces have been finished, the artifacts and materials from the Special Collections and University Archives will be moved from the 1967 burnt orange carpeted home on the main level they’ve known for so many years into the first finished space of the renovated library, equipped with climate control to keep them in excellent condition. One of the reasons this renovation project was split into two phases was to minimize the number of moves these fragile collections would have to make. The phases allowed Special Collections and University Archives to remain in their existing space and only make one transition to their new home in the renovated library.
This big transition for Special Collections and University Archives will start to happen in the next month. Construction crews can use summer and the rest of the calendar year to transition into Phase 2 — including some substantive demo where the Welcome Desk and collections have been stored during this academic year. While there’s still plenty of work to do, the entire project is less than a year away from completion.
For the remainder of the project, Forsyth Library’s staff and services will be located in Custer Hall with the Welcome Desk located in Custer Hall 304, the Media Lab located in Custer Hall 310 and Ask A Librarian Online Research Help available from any device or by appointment.
