A Perfect Setting for Study
'the heart of every great college is its library'
It’s been more than a year in the making, but Oxford College’s new library and academic commons will be unveiled in August, just in time for the incoming class.
After last year’s Commencement, a groundbreaking was held for the $10.2 million renovation and expansion of the Hoke O’Kelley Memorial Library, originally built in 1970. Participating were Oxford Dean Stephen Bowen, President James Wagner, Associate Dean and College Librarian Kitty McNeill, and Hugh Tarbutton Jr. 84OX, chair of the library committee and member of the Oxford Board of Counselors.
“This is going to be an amazing space for Oxford students,” says McNeill. “Those who have toured the facility have been so excited to see the beautiful learning commons, the group study rooms, and the variety of spaces for gathering and learning.”
Campaign Emory donations paid for the 10,000-square-foot addition, along with a complete renovation of the existing 20,000-square-foot library building. “The heart of every great college is its library,” says Bowen.
One of the Oxford library’s claims to fame was being used as a shooting location for the CW television show The Vampire Diaries. The interior of the original building has been completely transformed, bringing it up to modern standards with an open, airy design, while the exterior will be more in keeping with the historic buildings on the Oxford Quadrangle.
