Jessi Morton, News Editor 

After a multi-year planning process, renovations to Jackson Library are now underway. Regular updates throughout the process are available on the Library News and Blogs: Renovation Review website. The Carolinian previously reported on the planned renovations, and this report compiles key information from more recent updates. 

An August 2024 update noted that “UNCG was awarded $97 million (an initial $81 million plus an inflation adjustment of $16 million) by the state legislature to renovate and modernize Jackson Library, which has not been updated since the tower was constructed in 1973. This renovation will update infrastructure, modernize spaces, and bring the building into ADA compliance to better serve UNCG students, faculty, and staff.” Updates to Jackson Library will nearly double the student seating capacity. The planned renovations will also increase library teaching space, add enclosed and semi-enclosed study spaces, and add student-focused wellness space. A timeline and detailed renovation plans are available online. 

While disruptions were minimal during the Fall 2024 semester, the Spring 2025 semester has seen much greater impact on student and faculty library access. Phase 1 of the renovations officially began in December 2024. During Phase 1, the tower side of the library will be closed, but the older, College Avenue side of the building remains open. This phase of the project is expected to last until Summer 2026. 

During Phase 1, print materials have largely been removed from Jackson Library, and most items in the library’s general collection will be unavailable during this phase. An update on January 15, 2025, included images of books being moved, but reassured readers that “there are still select print books available during this first phase of the library renovation project. There are also many options for borrowing print materials from other institutions.” A February 12, 2025 update included an image of empty shelves and confirmed that the general collection had been fully moved to offsite storage at that time. 

Despite the library’s efforts, limited access to materials has already created challenges for some students. A current doctoral candidate shared that “The removal of most of the collection to an offsite location and the limitations on the length of Interlibrary loans have been major barriers to my dissertation research. Even when I can still find the materials I need, I have had to wait weeks or months to get them and have been required to return them before I have sufficient time.” 

Other students are likely to experience similar frustrations as Phase 1 continues for another year. Students can visit the renovation homepage to pose “questions and feedback” using the links provided at the bottom of the page. Additionally, Jackson Library recommends contacting the Liaison Librarian for your academic department for assistance with finding, accessing, or ordering materials, and the library has made efforts to expand their digital offerings to help mitigate such access issues. 

There are opportunities for students and faculty to contribute their perspectives on the renovations in other ways, though. On February 26, 2025, furniture testing for the renovated library was announced. The post indicated that “several furniture samples have been brought to Jackson Library for testing. Students, faculty, and staff are being invited to try out the furniture and to share their feedback. Chosen pieces will be part of the fully renovated library building at the conclusion of the project.” Additionally, renderings of the anticipated future design of Jackson Library can be viewed on the walls near the accessible Jarrell Hall entrance. 

Jackson Library has provided a document explaining how to borrow books during the renovation. Suggested alternatives for accessing materials during Phase 1 include the following: 

• Electronic resources. Jackson Library provides more than 1.4 million ebooks and 137,000 ejournals. E-resources are available 24 hours a day, both on and off campus. 

• Other library shelving locations and collections. The 100,000+ items in the Schiffman Music Library will remain available throughout the renovation project. Two hundred thousand books, journals, and other materials from the Jackson tower will be stored in the newly expanded on-campus remote storage facility and will be available upon request. The Special Collections and University Archives collections of over 125,000 items will also be available. Throughout Phase 1 a collection of up to 10,000 recently returned and newly purchased books will also be maintained. These items will be available for browsing and checkout on the first floor of the library. 

• Local academic libraries. All UNCG faculty, staff, and students are eligible to borrow from the nearly 4.5 million items housed at fifteen Triad Academic Libraries. 

• Other North Carolina libraries. All UNCG faculty, staff, and students are eligible to borrow from a collection of over 20 million items located at UNC System Libraries on the seventeen campuses, and at many other regional libraries. 

• Interlibrary Loan. If you need a book or article that Jackson Library doesn’t have, it can be borrowed from another library through Interlibrary Loan. 

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the library renovation would double square footage; while student seating will be doubled, square footage will not. Additionally, thanks to The Carolinian’s reporting, the renovation homepage has added clearer links for student feedback, and we have updated this article with information on how to find those links.