Harrison Library Refresh Project

Harrison Library Refresh Project

Over the summer months, work to refresh and partially refurbish the ground and third floor of Harrison Library at City Campus will take place.

This £1.6 million project will bring a much-needed refresh to the 3rd floor of the library, improving the IT suite and silent study areas.

In addition to this, the ground floor will be updated and will see the creation of a brand-new Student Life Centre to greatly improve the student experience. As part of this new space, several support services will have a regular presence within the shared library space which will include:

  • ASK@WLV (frontline help and support)
  • A rebranded Student Life team:
    • Mental Health & Wellbeing
    • Disability & Inclusion
    • Financial Support
    • Safeguarding and Support to Study

This is an exciting project, but a significant undertaking, involving relocating a significant amount of our library collection to allow for the space improvements to take place.

There will be plenty of preparation work going on leading up to the closure of the ground floor on 22nd July, followed by a full closure of the 3rd floor by 29th July. The work is expected to be completed before the start of the next academic year.

The ground floor and the 3rd floor of Harrison Library will be refurbished and these are the two floors that will be unavailable for all staff and students for the duration of the project. 

As part of our refresh project, the library will be implementing several changes to improve the accessibility of key subject resources. These changes will include:

  • Enhancing the flow of our collections across the floors
  • Creating more space for currently overcrowded areas
  • Rearranging our shelving stacks for better organisation

During this process, there may be times when certain parts of the collection are temporarily inaccessible. We will strive to minimise these disruptions and will offer Interlibrary Loans for any materials we cannot provide within a reasonable timeframe.

You can also view this FAQ which will be updated to show which library services may be impacted https://wlv.libanswers.com/faq/275283

The ground floor ‘atrium’ will become the new home of the Student Life Centre, which will have its own dedicated entrance. This will be the home for ASK@WLV frontline help and support as well as provide a dedicated drop-in space for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Disability & Inclusion, Financial Support, Safeguarding and Support to Study.

The Library side of the ground floor will be redecorated including new carpet, refreshed student furniture, creation of a new Skills for Learning Zone and an improved library helpdesk.

Harrison Library IT suite has been long overdue for a refresh. So, along with new carpets and décor, we will replace the long runs of PC desks and provide a greater variety of desking options, including increased soft seating and laptop-friendly study spaces. This will still remain the place to go to get a PC in the Library!

The Silent Study Zone has the best views of all floors in the library, but the furniture has long let this space down. The refresh will introduce more comfortable, relaxing study options, better access to power sockets and greater privacy.

This extensive project will inevitably cause disruption across all floors, particularly due to the large volume of books that need repositioning. However, we aim to maintain limited access to study spaces on floors 1 and 2, as far as it is safe and practical to do so. 

There are a number of teaching rooms in the library which will all remain accessible throughout the work, including MD111b, MD163, MD165, MD212b. However, there may be some specific routes you may need to take to access these spaces, so please follow any signage or speak to a member of the library team if you are unsure how to access these teaching rooms. 

  1. Keep an eye on Library News for any key changes to services and updates to the project.
  2. Follow us on Instagram for more frequent updates.
  3. Check in on our Library Services FAQ to see if the service you are after may be impacted by the refresh works. 
  4. View our Harrison Library Refresh board which we will keep at the entrance of the library, displaying key information for your visit.