Mercyhurst has been doing extensive renovation projects lately, beginning with Ryan Hall and the MCPc Cyber Education Center. With the new athletic updates recently announced, Hammermill Library will not be left out.

The library will be undergoing large renovations coming fall 2019.

Darci Jones, director of University Libraries, stated that the main level of the library will be renovated for the students. Its overall look will be updated while also providing more spaces and rooms for individuals and groups to study.

After the renovations are completed, the plan is to have four new collaborative study rooms with glass write-on boards. In these rooms will also be large, interactive computer screens mounted on the walls. Students will be able to schedule the rooms for group study and/or group projects ahead of time. They will be similar to the previous study rooms that used to be where the Cyber Education Center is now.

In addition to the study rooms, a new Public Services and Circulation Desk area will be included in the renovations.

Separate from the study rooms, students will also see sections of comfortable seating, new tables for study spaces and new book shelving units for showcasing books, references, magazines and newspapers. With new lighting and an enhanced environment, students will see the benefits from this renovation.

The Writing and Tutoring Center will also see improvements in their respective areas.

Finally, the former Library Classroom L225 will be remodeled into a University Testing Center, where students will go to make up exams or receive extra support while taking tests.

Jones said that the hardest part may be “getting everything out of the main floor of the library.” She described the changes by stating that almost nothing of the old furnishings are going to be coming back in.

Students should expect big changes to the essential library space. It will only increase the value of the library and what is contained within.

Ella DiPietro, junior Intelligence Studies and Religious Studies dual major, frequents the library often.

“I am very excited to see the upgrades to the library. I think the new study rooms will be a valuable addition,” DiPietro said. “It’s great to have more options on campus for quiet places to work independently or in a small group.”

The third floor, 3R, where the Weber Great Hall and Catherine Walker Reading Room are located, and the fourth floor of Hammermill Library will all remain unchanged during the main floor renovations.

The renovations will surely be a modern and welcome update to the library as it becomes even more inviting and student-focused.