In Focus: Moffitt’s metamorphosis

Since Moffitt Library opened in 1970, students have taken to it like butterflies to a garden. But after a half-century, the library needed freshening up.

In 2016, students fluttered to Moffitt’s sleek, colorful top two floors, newly renovated. And starting in winter 2024–25, the lower three floors will begin a transformation of their own, blossoming into new life.

What’s changing at Moffitt? In short, a lot.

  • The first floor will offer a tranquil sanctuary for students, with plenty of comfortable places to sit, ideal for quiet reflection and studying. Yes, that means saying “bon voyage” to the airport-style seating that has graced the space for years.
  • The second floor was once off-limits to students. But with the renovation, staff workspaces will make way for a maker studio and places where students can collaborate with peers from across disciplines and throughout campus.
  • The third floor will include a reimagined space for exhibits, providing illuminating introductions to a range of topics; an expanded Free Speech Movement Café, the perfect place to grab a bite with friends; a sunlit lounge, where communities can come together; and an enhanced entryway to the knowledge that awaits in the Main (Gardner) Stacks.

To accommodate the renovation, Moffitt will close after fall finals this year, reopening in time for the fall 2026 semester. All told, the renovation will open up hundreds of new spaces for students, fulfilling a critical need on a campus where places to study and socialize are in high demand.