As the John Hay Library renovation project winds down, we can share a glimpse of various refurbished spaces in anticipation of the reopening of the building in September. Below are images of the Hay Library’s new Exhibition Gallery. This new space will provide more flexibility in terms of the types of items we can exhibit; improved accessibility, lighting, and security; and additional space for viewing exhibits and offering curator chats or tours.
With major construction completed, the John Hay Library renovation project is currently in the punch list and touch-up phase. Hay staff will move back into the building during the week of June 16-20 and then prepare the building for reopening, re-shelve collections, and reorient services in new spaces. The newly-renovated Hay Library will reopen for service at the beginning of the fall semester.
Future posts will provide details concerning Hay Library hours of service. If you have any questions, please contact HayRenovation@brown.edu
Below are two images that show the current status of the refurbished main reading room.
Beginning in June 2014, staff and many collections will be returning to the John Hay Library, and over the summer months staff will be engaged in preparing the newly renovated building for reopening in early September 2014. Due to the enormous amount of work involved in re-shelving materials and reorienting staff and services in the new space, requests for assistance during the summer (June-August) will be reserved for research related to Brown University’s 250th anniversary. There will be no other Library services available during the summer of 2014. The temporary Hay reading rooms in the Collections Annex will be closed during this time. The temporary Special Collections Reading Room in the Rockefeller Library will close August 15, 2014.
The John Hay Library will reopen in early September 2014, at which time the Special Collections Reading Room and reference services will resume. Please contact the Library at HayRenovation@brown.edu with any questions.
If you will be teaching a course during Fall 2014 that will utilize Special Collections materials, please contact the Library at HayRenovation@brown.edu by May 3, 2014. Special Collections materials will be unavailable for courses during the summer.
For more information on the John Hay Renovation project, please continue to follow this site or contact Thomas Horrocks, Director of Special Collections and the John Hay Library (thomas_horrocks@brown.edu)
The John Hay Library renovation project remains on schedule. The current plan calls for the staff to move back into the Hay in mid-June and the building to open for business in the fall. The latest sign of progress is the installation of new windows on the first floor, including the main reading room, the special collections reading room, and the Bruhn Room. The first two images show windows being installed in the main reading room (exterior and interior views) on the south side of the building. The final two images show the new windows in the special collections reading room (interior and exterior views) on the north side of the building. Stay tuned for the next update.
As of early February 2014 the John Hay Library renovation project is right on schedule. The four images below provide a snapshot of the progress being made during the project’s construction phase. The first image shows the construction of the new accessible restrooms on the first floor of the library, the entrance to which is adjacent to the Reader Services desk and right inside the new Exhibition Gallery. The second image provides a look at the new entrance to the Reader Services area (view is from the Reader Services desk toward the lobby and the front entrance to the building). One can see the new first-floor Consultation/Meeting Room taking shape in the third image and the refurbished third-floor skylight in the fourth image. Stay tuned for further progress reports.
The John Hay Library has been closed for almost eight months and the renovation continues to proceed. The installation of the fire suppression system has been completed in the South stacks and is now underway in the North stacks and moving into other spaces of the library. The first image below shows the Bruhn Room, located on the library’s second floor, prepared for installation of sprinklers. The second image shows the new windows that will be installed in the Bruhn Room as well as in the main Reading Room. Meanwhile, work continues of the enhanced security, fire safety, and electrical systems. Finally, landscaping work has begun in
the garden area in preparation for the construction of the new accessible entrance. Image three and four show the landscaping work and the outside location of the new entrance. The last three images show the progress being made on the first floor spaces, including the new entrance from the lobby to the Reader Services area.
The John Hay Renovation Project is moving ahead at full steam. The construction phase which began in late August is progressing on schedule. The Hay is undergoing a dramatic transformation: walls are being demolished, ceilings taken down, and carpets and light fixtures removed, while book stacks and marble floors and stairs are encased in protective enclosures. The first of the five images shows the main stairway in the Hay lobby encased by wood to protect the marble stairs and the iron bannisters. The middle three images show the spaces on the first floor that used to house the card catalogs and public computers as well as the University Archives reading room. As one can see, the wall separating the former University Archives reading room and the reader services area no longer exists. It will be replaced by a glass wall that will separate the new special collections reading room from the new exhibition gallery. The fifth and final image shows the door that leads from the new handicapped-accessible entrance into the exhibition gallery.
With the first phase of the John Hay Library renovation complete, the construction phase will now commence. The initial phase, concentrating on moving library collections, art work, artifacts, and furniture within or out of the building to ensure their safety and prepare the building for the construction phase, began in mid-June soon after the library closed its doors to researchers. The construction phase will include renovating and remodeling the library’s entire first floor, installing a fire suppression system throughout the building, including the stacks, upgrading the HVAC and security systems, and building a handicapped-accessible entrance.
The Hay Library contains many valuable works of art, artifacts, and antiques. To ensure the protection, environmental safety, and security of these collections during renovation, enclosures, such as the one depicted in the images shown here, have been erected in the library. Each item stored in this enclosure has been individually wrapped and crated.
Contact: HayRenovation@brown.edu | 401-863-3723
Providence, RI [Brown University] – The Brown University Library is excited to announce the launching of the John Hay Library renovation project. Revitalization of this historic landmark will include a refurbishment of the magnificent first floor reading room into an open, welcoming study space for students; the creation of a new state-of-the-art special collections reading room in the area which formerly housed University Archives; improvements to the service and exhibit areas in the Central Hall of the first floor; addition of a student lounge and conference room; handicapped access to the front of the Library and code compliance and fire safety improvements throughout the building.
To accommodate the extensive work involved in the renovation, the John Hay Library will close beginning June 1, 2013, and will remain closed through the duration of the construction project until Fall 2014. During the construction project, there will be no access to the building, and access to Special Collections & Archives materials by faculty, students, and other researchers will be limited.
We will be able to pull a limited amount of Special Collections & Archives materials from the Hay Library stacks prior to the Library’s closing on June 1, 2013. These materials will be shelved elsewhere temporarily for access by classes and researchers during the renovation period. We are asking faculty and others to help us identify Special Collections & Archives materials that will be needed during the period that the Library will be closed. This input must be provided no later than April 5, 2013.
Specifically, faculty who will be teaching a course during Fall 2013 or Spring 2014 that will utilize Hay Library materials must contact the Library at HayRenovation@brown.edu by April 5, 2013.
Also, graduate students or undergraduate honors thesis students planning to do research using Special Collections & Archives materials during this period (June 2013 thru Fall 2014) must contact the Library at HayRenovation@brown.edu by April 5, 2013.
Please note that any Special Collections & Archives materials located at the Library Collections Annex (as denoted in the Josiah catalog record) will continue to be available throughout the renovation period. These materials may be used at the Annex (10 Park Lane, Providence) or requested for use on campus.
A temporary special collections reading area will be established in the Rockefeller Library to consult Special Collections & Archives materials retrieved from the Annex or that have been requested in advance of the Hay Library’s temporary closing. In addition, the Library encourages use of its digitized collections (selected Special Collections materials which have been digitized for public use) and digital projects during the renovation period.
The John Hay Library renovation project is scheduled to be completed by the start of the Fall 2014 semester. With the capable guidance of Seldorf Architects, known for their elegant treatment in designing and renovating cultural institutions, the renewal of this space not only will fulfill important scholarly and programmatic needs of the Library and campus. The project’s completion also will serve to honor the John Hay Library’s founding donor, Andrew Carnegie, whose philanthropy was intended to do “real and permanent good,” benefitting Brown both today and tomorrow. We are most grateful to our generous donors for making this wonderful project possible. The results promise to be a space that will better protect and service the Library’s unique Special Collections, and open both the Library and its collections to inspire Brown students today and for generations to come.
We greatly appreciate the cooperation of all Brown faculty and students and other researchers and friends of the Hay during the period that the Library will be closed. We will provide regular updates on the progress of the John Hay Library renovation throughout the project. Additional information will be available at the project web site (coming soon).
Please contact Tom Horrocks, Director of Special Collections and the John Hay Library, for additional information regarding services during the renovation or other questions about the John Hay Library.
Contact: HayRenovation@brown.edu | 401-863-3723