D.H. Hill Jr. Library: Closed for Summer

Closing down one of the few 24/7 buildings on a research university campus is a major disruptive endeavor, one that begins Monday at NC State’s D.H. Hill Jr. Library.

While it’s the first major infrastructure upgrade at the biggest library on main campus since the South Tower was built in 1990, the $1.2 million electrical equipment replacement is designed to make safer and more reliable a building that originally opened 73 years ago. There have been three major additions since then.

The project will close all parts of the Hill Library from May 5 through Aug. 1. Essential services will continue, though some services and staff members will be temporarily relocated to the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus. For questions about available services, use these Ask Us utilities. Food service at the Atrium typically shuts down during the summer months, shifting most diners to other locations on campus.

Requests for books and other materials located at the Hill Library may be placed via the Libraries website, with pickup options at the Hunt Library or any of the three branch libraries (Design, Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine). The Hunt Library’s in-person Ask Us service hours will be extended to the full building hours this summer while the Hill Library is closed. Regular updates will be available on the Libraries website.

The project was originally slated to occur in 2021, but that turned out to be the height of COVID-19 shutdowns and supply chain shortages. It’s taken four years to get the appropriate equipment, bids and contractors to begin the necessary work.

There are two main parts to the project: replacing three aging oil-filled transformers with a new single dry-type, air-cooled transformer and replacing the original main distribution panel that was installed in 1972.

The replacement equipment will serve the original East and West wings, which house the Atrium food court on one end and the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) on the other, and the North Tower, which houses the North bookstacks. The South Tower bookstacks will not be affected by the renovations but will still be shut down for the duration of the construction project.

NC State Dining will use the closure to make major renovations to the serving area to accommodate new addition Mediterranean Deli.

The SCRC will be closed for all appointments during the summer and will reopen at the beginning of August. During the closure, SCRC staff can answer questions about all collections (if they are accessible) and support researchers using digital materials for their research. Some materials will not be available for reproduction requests.

“It’s been a long planning process,” says project manager Kevin McClory of NC State Facilities’ Design and Construction division. “It is a significant project to close an entire building to the public, faculty and staff for the duration of the project, something that doesn’t happen very often.

“Despite our best efforts to notify everyone, I’m sure that there still will be a lot of people who walk up to the building and expect to be able to get in and eventually see signs that say, ‘Nope, sorry, we’re closed.’”