The Rock is undergoing several projects to update key spaces and improve the Library’s overall functionality and safety. All services and operations will proceed as normal during all phases of the work. Library hours will remain the same and can be viewed here.
New accessible ramp on the left; temporary accessible ramp (now gone) on the right
A new accessible ramp has been installed in the front and is open for use. There is a channel of steps providing access to the front doors as well. Despite the construction fences, the cranes, and the general congestion around our block of Prospect Street, the Rock is open for business as usual.
Workers remove the old front steps and prepare the surface for sealing and new steps
New front steps being installed
Work is being done on the exterior facade to reseal the concrete joints of the building (all floors, all around the building) as well as repair and replace exterior doors on Levels A and B.
Workers on crane lifts resealing concrete joints
Further, inside the building we will begin construction this fall on the new Digital Studio on the first floor of the Rock (in the former Periodicals Reading Room) as well as construct new office spaces on Level A.
View from the central hallway on the first floor to the now closed Periodicals Reading Room, which is becoming the new Digital Studio
Patrons can access the Hecker Room and the Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab by going through the Sorensen Family Reading Room and taking a right into the Finn Reading Room. For more information on the closing of the Periodicals Reading Room and the new locations for the current periodicals and the Diversions popular reading collection, click here.
Periodicals Reading Room just before construction began; this space will become a Digital Studio
We have worked with Facilities Management and the contractors to minimize the impact of these projects on library users to the extent that it is possible (e.g., scheduling the noisiest work during early hours before the library opens). Nevertheless, much of this work must be performed during hours when the building is occupied by users, and some of the work can sometimes be noisy or disruptive. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but ask you to please bear with us in the short run as we work to improve the condition of the building and the facilities and operations within the Rock.
The open front entrance and porch
We greatly appreciate your patience, flexibility, and cooperation as we work through the fall semester. Please let us know if you have any questions about the construction projects, now or as the semester unfolds.