Title:Celebrating a revitalized Pierce Reading Room at Lauinger Library

On April 10, Georgetown University formally rededicated the Pierce Reading Room—located on the third floor of the Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library—following a major expansion and renovation of the space. Thanks to philanthropic support from a number of Georgetown alumni and friends, the Reading Room now offers a flexible learning environment featuring collaborative workspaces, a digital visualization and learning lab with a large-format video wall, and improved access to Georgetown’s special collections. The renovation also replaced portions of the exterior concrete panel walls with floor-to-ceiling windows, increasing natural light and offering views of the Potomac River.

“The reopening of this remarkable space is the culmination of decades of vision, hard work, lots of prayers, tenacity, and unwavering dedication,” Alexia Hudson-Ward, university librarian and dean of the Georgetown University Library, said at the rededication. “What we are experiencing here in Pierce is the result of sustained belief in the power of libraries, in the importance of place, and in the transformative impact of knowledge.”

The Pierce Reading Room renovation is the first stage in a phased project that will reimagine the 56-year-old Lauinger Library. Future phases will produce a modern and highly functional environment that enhances teaching and research, expands access to centuries of scholarship, and integrates the latest technologies. Philanthropy will make it possible to realize this transformation, creating spaces that inspire and advance the academic careers of Georgetown’s students and faculty.

Inside the renewed Pierce Reading Room

Reopened in January 2026, the renovated Pierce Reading Room makes an additional 3,000 square feet of space available for student use. It features an open, flexible space for quiet study, as well as areas for active research and learning. Two enclosed small-group study rooms facilitate collaboration. “The Pierce Reading Room in many ways is a reflection of who we are, and it is a signal of who we are becoming,” said Hudson-Ward, calling it “a beacon of access, excellence, and belonging.”

Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert added that the new space reflects several core academic priorities: Georgetown’s commitment to interdisciplinary engagement and collaboration; to access and inclusion; and to its Jesuit values, particularly cura personalis, care for the whole person. “Libraries are places of discipline and imagination, solitude and community in supporting both scholarship and well-being,” she said. “The Pierce Reading Room contributes to the formation of scholars who are thoughtful, ethical, and engaged with the world.”

Thanks to the generosity of Michelle and Michael Duran (B’96), the Reading Room is now home to a visualization and learning lab, where students and faculty can engage with library collections and other information via the university’s first large-format high-resolution display wall. With touch-enabled monitors, users can analyze and present images and data sets at resolutions well beyond the capabilities of personal computers. They can examine the detail of the library’s rare manuscripts, compare versions of artists’ renderings, and visualize interactive migration maps in ways never before possible.

The Durans also supported an expansive display case, enhancing access to scholarly work and library collections. The Duran Exhibition Case will display materials from the library’s collection of rare books, maps, and archives; items from its world-class art collection; and student and faculty research.

Speaking at the ribbon cutting, Hudson-Ward expressed gratitude for those who invested in the Reading Room renewal, including the Durans, Catherine (C’89, P’21 ‘25) and Charles Sansbury (B’89, P’21 ‘25), Anne-Marie Barcia de Leiva (F’76 P’16), Lynn R. Callagy (P’88 ’98), the Georgetown University Library Board, the Georgetown University Board of Regents Library Committee, and the Friends of Lauinger Library in London.

Marking 230 years of the Georgetown University Library

The April 10 rededication ceremony had several special guests, including Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Newlan. Attendees celebrated both the Pierce Reading Room renewal and the 230th anniversary of Georgetown University Library, founded in 1796. “Today, as we celebrate the reopening of the Pierce Reading Room and honor 230 years of library excellence, we reaffirm that Georgetown University is sustained not only by ideas, but by the spaces that allow those ideas to take root,” said Colbert.

Since its completion in 1970, Lauinger Library has been the heart of the University Library on the Hilltop campus. Built in the Brutalist style, Lauinger sits near the Potomac River, offering views of the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. Known affectionately as “Lau” by students and alumni, it is a home for all Georgetown students and a cherished source of lifelong learning for Georgetown alumni. Students and scholars across all disciplines benefit from the library’s exceptional collections, services, staff, and spaces.

The library’s 230-year milestone also serves as a reminder of how much technological and social changes have altered the creation and communication of knowledge since Lauinger was first built. The Pierce Reading Room renewal, and the remaining stages of Lauinger’s comprehensive transformation, will redefine how the library serves the Georgetown community.

Future enhancements may include more light-infused spaces, improved landscaping and building access, a refreshed entry area, additional seating, and an expanded MakerHub. Renewed service and study areas will facilitate a range of formal and informal learning opportunities, connecting students, faculty, and researchers with content, with each other, and with librarians.

“To sustain and evolve an academic library across more than two centuries is no small feat,” said Hudson-Ward. “It is an extraordinary testament to the enduring value of our library as a steward of knowledge, an engine of discovery, and an anchor within Georgetown and our broader communities.”