Phillips Library Renovation Begins

One of the first steps in the library renovation is moving books to the Tabbernee Conference Center. The library staff will continue to provide all services throughout the project.

The board of trustees for Phillips Theological Seminary recently approved a nearly $1.2 million renovation of the seminary library. The project is already underway with the removal of books to the Tabbernee Conference Center (TCC).

“We will continue our full complement of services to our students, faculty and special borrowers throughout the project,” said Sandy Shapoval, library dean. “Though our circulating collection is in the TCC, we will be pleased to retrieve any and all materials from that location.”

The renovation, expected to last about nine months, will begin below the floor of the library to replace and repair longstanding plumbing issues. Once this infrastructure is in place, work will start on the rest of the space.

“Besides updating our look, the renovation allows us to reconfigure the library to better provide class and collaborative space while also affording an 85 percent increase in shelving capacity,” Shapoval said.

The library’s floor space currently accommodates 45,000 volumes. The new configuration will increase that to about 74,000.

The re-design is also taking lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration to provide more safety for library staff and patrons.

“The project should be finished in time for the fall 2022 semester,” Shapoval said. “I will use this blog page to provide updates, photos and answer questions about the renovation, so keep checking on our progress.”

CLICK to see library renovation photos