Over the last few years, John Carroll University has renovated a lot of its campus, including Dolan and Pacelli residence halls, the university bookstore and Schott Dining Hall. Currently, Grasselli Library is in the process of uplifting its building and improving its resources.

Director of Capital Projects Eric Smith told The Carroll News, “The phased construction project started in the fall of 2023 beginning with the installation of new curtain wall glass on the Grasselli side of the courtyard. The project then transitioned into the entire first floor of the building and Breen levels two and three.”

Over the holiday break, Grasselli Library was closed for two days to allow for the help desk and main entrance to be moved to their new locations one floor below. The ground floor then officially opened to the JCU community for the spring 2025 semester.

The newly renovated floor consists of the new main entrance, Student Accessibility Services, Computer Commons, Center for Digital Media, Curiosity Lounge and the Den. The space houses offices and testing areas for SAS, which moved to the library from Dolan Science Center, and a classroom for the entrepreneurship program.

With the movement of important student-centric departments and resources being moved mid-year, Director of Grasselli Library Julia Warga said, “The library is in a central campus location. By moving different student services such as SAS, career services and academic advising in the library, students can easily find and access the support departments they need in one location.”

However, these renovations have posed a challenge for students trying to reach the Mastrantoni Student Success Commons, which is home to Academic Success and Career Services. “It appears that the traffic to our office is down from the previous semester,” said Lisa Ramsey, an advisor for the Academic Success Center. “I think one of the biggest reasons for this is because the first floor is such a great new space that students want to use it.”

To combat this issue, the library has posted signage to direct students on where to find these offices. Ramsey continued, “It is a bit challenging to find our office now, but students are finding us thanks to a great video that Jaret Fowler ‘25, our marketing intern, created.” 

The Learning Commons, which is one of the most utilized services, was temporarily relocated to the second floor of the library, directly above the new entrance. 

“With the building under renovation, we were limited in where we could temporarily move such a popular student resource,” Warga said. “The current temporary location was the largest unused space we could find.”

“Most people, including tutors and students seeking study table assistance, have been enjoying the temporary space near the windows,” said Julia Champion-Baxter, Learning Commons graduate assistant. “I predict that [the Learning Commons] will have a very successful semester.” 

The feedback that Warga has received about the library renovations has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I like the new layout of the library and especially the new services, but it will take some getting used to until we can make the space feel like our library again,” said Max Nadeau ’27, who works at the help desk. “I believe the renovation will allow for more people who previously stayed away from the library to study since it is no longer as crowded as it was last semester.”

Nadeau continued, “I also believe that the inclusion of the coffee shop will allow for folks to study for longer as they no longer need to leave the library to feed themselves.”

Even though the remodeling of Grasselli Library recently hit a major milestone, the second phase of the renovation process is still underway. 

“Construction of phase two of the renovation [process] began over Christmas break after the opening of the lower level and will continue through September of this year,” Smith said. “The improvements will address the remaining areas of Grasselli floors two and three.”

“We are still excited to be able to share this new space but there will still be loud noises and other complications that come from being a partial construction zone,” Warga stated. “That said, I am looking forward to next fall when the Learning Commons will move to its permanent location [on the second floor of the library]. Additionally, the Writing Center will be moving into the library, and we will have a new exhibit space.”

Warga encourages anyone with questions about Grasselli Library renovations to reach out to her at [email protected].