Workers install new exhibit cases near the third floor entrance of Moffitt Library. (Photos by Jami Smith/UC Berkeley Library)
Next week, UC Berkeley students will get their beloved Moffitt Library back — only better. After more than a year of renovations, the longtime gathering spot will reopen with three transformed lower floors designed around how today’s students learn and collaborate.The reopening marks the completion of the Carol T. Christ Center for Connected Learning at Moffitt Library. The $58 million renovation of the lower floors nearly doubles the amount of student-centered space, including an expanded Free Speech Movement Café and an enhanced maker studio. Student input helped shape everything from the flexible furnishings and inviting gathering spaces to the nature-inspired color palettes.
Wones
“I think students will find that the project was well worth the wait,” said Suzanne Wones, UC Berkeley’s university librarian. “This will be where generations of Cal undergraduates make lifelong friendships and dream up the world’s next big ideas. We are so excited to open up those doors!” That sense of connection is already familiar to Margaret Solomon ’27, Cal’s student body president. During her first year on campus, Moffitt Library offered her something especially valuable: a sense of belonging.“I hope it becomes a space to make connections for them and then also a space to feel at home when you’re outside of your actual home,” Solomon said. “That’s what it was for me my first year in the space.”Creating that kind of place for Berkeley undergraduates has been more than a decade in the making. The first phase of the project, a renovation of Moffitt’s two upper floors, was completed in 2016. Plans for the remaining three floors were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions. The final phase eventually moved forward with generous support from donors, including a capstone gift from alumna Nadine Tang M.S.W. ’75. At Tang’s request, the center was named in honor of her friend Chancellor Emerita Carol T. Christ.“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the donors whose vision and generosity helped make this project a reality,” Chancellor Rich Lyons said. “I am especially grateful to Nadine Tang, whose transformative gift honors her friendship with Chancellor Christ and their shared desire to provide a space that facilitates all modes of learning for all students, regardless of their backgrounds or goals.” At a glance: Carol T. Christ Center for Connected Learning at Moffitt LibraryOpening: 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 24Phase 2 architects: BNIMPhase 2 cost: $58 millionAccess: Open seven days a week, including 24 hours on five days (floors 4 and 5)Designed by — and for — studentsTurning that vision into a physical space began with a basic question: What do students actually want from their library?The answer, gathered through surveys, workshops, and years of conversations with undergraduates, was relatively simple.“They wanted more space, period,” said Jen Brown, Berkeley’s undergraduate learning and research librarian. “They didn’t want to have to sit on the floor or just not have a place to dock their stuff or not have enough outlets.”That feedback became a guiding principle for the renovation: Create more places where students could gather, study, and work together. Nowhere is that transformation more apparent than on the second floor, once occupied exclusively by staff offices and now reimagined as an expansive student space with study booths and flexible seating.The second floor is also home to the Moffitt Library Maker Studio and the Discovery Hub. The expanded makerspace has dedicated areas for sewing and textile arts, 3D printing, and other hands-on projects, plus spaces for consultations and group instruction. Next door, the Discovery Hub brings the Berkeley Discovery initiative into Moffitt, helping connect undergraduates to research opportunities, internships, and other hands-on learning experiences that complement their coursework. An adjacent learning studio provides space for workshops and programming.
