Main OSU library ready after renovation

COLUMBUS (AP) — It’s “reveal” time for Ohio State University’s main library after a three-year, $108.7 million makeover.

Original architectural features of the 1913 William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library have been polished up and complemented with contemporary accents including new skylights, glass walls and a “flying” staircase not attached to any wall.

The renovated building reopened today, though an official ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Sept. 24.

Seating throughout the library has been more than doubled, and 200 computers have been added, along with wireless Internet and a caf.

Also, the library’s Grand Reference Hall has been restored to its 2 1‚Ñ2-story grandeur, undoing a 1966 change that split the room into two single-story spaces.