Over the next few years, the Undergraduate Library will be transformed into a new home for the University Archives, Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, and Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Many of the services now available in the UGL will be moved to the Main Library, which will also undergo a renovation. The University Library has selected Champaign-based RATIO Architects and Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch to complete the project.
Photo from University Library Facebook page.
The UGL opened on June 16th, 1969, and if you’ve attended or have been affiliated with the U of I in any way, you’ve likely heard the story of the library being built underground so that the building didn’t “throw shade on the corn” as The Other Guys sing. Apparently, as I just learned today, it was for another reason as well; the Campus Master Plan required an open mall between the Auditorium and the Stock Pavilion.
Work will begin in January 2022, and the project is slated to be completed in 2024.
Top image from University Library Facebook page.