The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library — known also as the “Main Library” since it first opened in 1913 — is in the final year of its three-year renovation and is on time for re-opening in late summer 2009. Closed since September 2006, the Library building is going through a thorough transformation to serve the university in the 21st century.

The new Library promises to welcome students and faculty to beautiful, functional and memorable learning spaces. The number of seats in the new building is increased from about 850 spaces (in 2006) to about 1,800 when the building is re-opened. The spaces will provide scholars with a wide variety of options to work in groups and individually in spacious reading rooms, group-study rooms, atrium seating, and in the stacks tower itself. The building will be thoroughly wired for access to the Internet, with wireless access throughout the building, supplemented by hard-wired computing stations in key areas. The Library’s café will be located near the new entrance just off Neil Avenue.

This current renovation — the largest academic building project in Ohio State’s history — will restore the beauty and functionality of the original structure and modernize its infrastructure to add state-of-the-art digital resources and services to support teaching and learning.

Architecturally, the Library building is focused around the bookstacks tower, which houses about 1.25 million volumes of both general-collections and rare materials. Flanking the tower on both the east and west are two stunning atrium spaces that bring in natural light and serve to orient visitors within the building.

The project has a budget of $108.7 million, with $70 million from state capital funds, $8 million from university sources previously set aside for the renovation, and $30 million realized in fund-raising from other sources.