August 03, 2006
Library to close temporarily; services still available
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Morris Library will close for eight days immediately following the end of the summer semester.
The library, which is undergoing a $48 million renovation and expansion, will close at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, in preparation for workers to conduct extensive jackhammer work. It will re-open at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 14.
Library services, however, will remain available throughout most of the time the building is closed. Workers and basic services will be available in the study lounge on the second floor of the SIUC Student Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Aug. 7-11. Patrons can make returns, pick up materials and make requests at the temporary facility, which will include a reference desk.
The Morris Library project is on track for completion in 2008. It includes a complete renovation of the existing seven-story structure, a 50,000- square-foot addition and various technology and efficiency upgrades throughout the nearly 50-year-old structure.
The core undergraduate collection and the majority of staff have remained directly available to library patrons during most of the renovation, which began last year. Other materials are available at McLafferty Annex.
Elevating Morris Library to rank among the top 50 of the Association of Research Libraries' publicly supported academic research libraries in the United States is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.