The Lilly Library Reading Room looks pretty forlorn this week, but it is just the first step in a remodeling project that will take all summer to complete. The project includes new paint, carpeting, window coverings, and furniture, as well as new built-in shelving and workspace beneath the windows. New lighting will brighten the space, and new electrical outlets will make plugging in your laptop easier, with no nasty surge protectors sprouting from the room’s perimeter.
This week there are no reader services at the Lilly Library, but next week we will open up a temporary Reading Room in the Elisabeth Ball Room. (Check back for pictures next week.) Library staff have moved a lot of furniture this week. The Ball Room furniture had to be relocated to make room for the temporary Reading Room furniture, consisting of chairs and smaller tables from the original Reading Room. Most of the furniture in the picture is destined to leave the Lilly Library completely. Staff have also moved many, many books and card catalog cabinets and drawers. All are safe in their new temporary homes in several locations in the Lilly Library.
If you want to use the temporary Reading Room this summer, remember to make an appointment by emailing liblilly@indiana.edu or calling 812-855-2452. We will try to accommodate drop-in visitors, but those with appointments have first priority.
Keep an eye on this blog and the Lilly Library Facebook page for more pictures and information about the progress of the Reading Room renovation.
— Erika Dowell, Public Services Librarian