The library has announced a refurbishment project, planned to start with preliminary works in November. The main project will begin in December of this year and is intended to be completed in the spring of 2011, in time for the university’s 50th anniversary.
The refurbishment is the result of a £6.4 million grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Features will include innovative new study zones, a dedicated doctoral research area, RFID self service and an overhaul of the shelving and short/long loan sections. The Careers and Employment Centre will also have offices in the building.
English Heritage has worked with architects to ensure the new designs maintain the work and ethos of Basil Spence’s original design. Part of the current library is a listed building.
The library hopes to keep disruption for students to a minimum although inevitably this cannot always be the case. The majority of students will have left by the time the project is completed.
