Stauffer Library Renovation and Temporary Summer Closure

We are pleased to announce that we are embarking on important renovations and improvements to Stauffer Library’s main floor. This project - the first major renovation to Stauffer Library since it opened in 1994 - will enhance accessibility and create a more welcoming and modern space for our patrons.  

Renovating one of Queen’s University’s most beloved spaces requires much planning and deliberation, and after considering all options, we have concluded that an eight to ten week summer 2024 closure of Joseph S. Stauffer Library will minimize impact during the academic year. Here is what you can expect as renovations are completed. 

Timelines 

While all large-scale projects such as this one can be difficult to time out exactly, current plans are as follows: 

Construction is currently scheduled to begin in May 2024 and will proceed for approximately eight months, but likely some weeks or even a few months longer. The library will remain open for most of this time, with access to specific areas restricted. 

Stauffer will be closed to the public for eight to ten weeks, from June 8 to approximately late August. During the closure, the noisiest and most disruptive work (e.g., core drilling and demolition) will be completed. Closing will help promote safety and allow work to proceed more quickly, thereby helping ensure that key areas, such as the adaptive technology centre, will be open as early as possible in the fall term, and leading up to a full reopening of the main floor in early 2025 

Key results  

• significant expansion and improvements to the Adaptive Technology Centre 
• a new 50 seat library classroom  
• gender neutral bathrooms 
• innovative biophilic and inclusive design 
• decreased physical collections footprint and increased, and better zoned, spaces for quiet study and active collaboration 
• new service desk, open reserves, and printing/scanning services 
• workspaces that meet the needs of twenty first century library employees 
• a featured space for librarians to collaborate with students and researchers 
• improved security systems 

Where to find services and resources during the renovation 

The Adaptive Technology Centre will be relocated to the ground floor of Douglas Library for the summer months before returning to their revitalized space. The ATC lab will be in room 405 and the ATC bookable study room in 404. ATC staff have offices contiguous with rooms 404 and 405. This information has already been shared with those who use the space.  

Humanities, Social Sciences, Digital Initiatives, and Open Scholarship librarians remain available for consultations, bookable online, or via email. 

As Stauffer Library stacks will not be accessible, materials will be available to all current Queen’s students, faculty, and staff via using the Request feature in our Omni search tool, with an alternate pickup location. Physical course reserves will be temporarily offered from another library location. More details will be provided as this project moves forward. 

Student Academic Success Services (SASS) will be moving to Gordon Hall 3rd floor as of May 1.

The loggia and rotunda will remain open for student use, and the Union Gallery and the Queen’s Research Data Centre, both located in Stauffer Library, will maintain their regular opening hours throughout the renovation.  

Those looking for library spaces, particularly during the brief summer closure of Stauffer Library, may wish to check out these other library locations: 

• Education Library 
• Douglas Library – the 1966 Reading room on the 3rd floor is a great place to study!  
• The reading room of the W.D. Jordan Special Collections will be reserved for graduate student use while the graduate student reading room in Stauffer is temporarily closed. 
• Bracken Health Sciences Library 
• Library Information Network at Queen’s (LINQ) located on the main floor of Watson Hall 

Going forward 

We hope you are as excited as we are to see the results of this renovation as we continue to evolve alongside our users’ needs and expectations. Updates will be provided as we progress through this project.