CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Wilson Library will close down beginning in August of next year to undergo a three year renovation project.
The university says the library will begin preparing for the renovations by moving all of its special collections materials into storage starting in August of 2024. The special collections are used by researchers at UNC and across the state, who will no longer be able to access them. But, some of the collections are available online.
The rest of the library will remain open to the public until the early spring 2025 semester. It will then shut down for renovations until 2027.
Renovations are intended to bring the library up to safety code. They include extending sprinkler coverage, creating more emergency stairs, and upgrading the fire alarm system.
University Librarian Maria Estorino says there are no official plans for future renovations, but there are a lot of ideas.
“There are no official plans,” Estorino said. “There are lots of dreams. We have a lot of ideas for things we would like to see done. And frankly, we look forward to working with our campus community, our community of supporters, and of users to imagine what those plans could be in the future.”
The university cannot do any future renovations or new construction to Wilson Library until it is brought up to code.
The university will continue to update this webpage as the project progresses.