FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The first major renovation of Mullins Library in more than 20 years is scheduled begin at the end of the Fall 2019 semester. The first phase of the project will focus on the third and fourth floors of the library and is expected to be finished in time for the start of the Fall 2021 semester.

"We are excited to move forward with the renewal of Mullins Library," said Dennis Clark, dean of Libraries. "Our students and faculty already have access to one of the finest collections of print and electronic resources in the region, as well as a dedicated library faculty and staff. And now, after years of planning, they will have a contemporary, comfortable and light-filled library building."

The first phase of the renovation will double the number of available seats on the third and fourth floors. Those levels will have 24 study rooms of various sizes as well as additional dedicated faculty carrels, spaces for faculty collaboration and more power outlets.

"We are adding more than a thousand seats throughout the library, including dozens of study rooms, faculty carrels, and collaborative and quiet spaces," Clark said.

Mullins has not been renovated since 1997, when the U of A student population was about half what it is now.

"Once Levels 3 and 4 are completed in 2021, we'll focus on Levels 1 and 2," Clark said. "We look forward to giving our campus the research library it deserves."

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring