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The Z. Smith Reynolds Library, long an icon on the Wake Forest University campus, is planning for the future. In an increasingly digital environment, the physical library is more relevant than ever. The library plays an essential role in helping students assess quality information and develop critical thinking skills. Faculty members are eager to partner with librarians in their teaching and research. In order to realize these unprecedented opportunities, the library building needs new learning spaces that will inspire.

More Welcoming Entries

The people who work at ZSR are renowned for their openness, warmth, and welcoming hospitality. In our vision, the building should reflect these same qualities. In the future Z. Smith Reynolds Library, we imagine a wider and more inviting main entry that offers immediate and central access to core library services.

We also want to preserve past traditions and reopen the historic East entry providing easy access from hub of student traffic between Benson, Tribble, and ZSR.

Collaborative Spaces

Students are the life blood of ZSR. They are the driving force behind our space, our services, and our programs. We exist because of our students and we want to make sure that ZSR is the first and favorite source in their quest for knowledge… and for a quiet space, help with a term paper, or maybe a latte. Students today require an evolving and flexible space – they want the library to offer quiet and traditional study spaces as well as spaces where they can collaborate with other students and faculty.

It is our top priority to make sure our students have the library spaces and services they need. The Reynolds wing has several dated reading rooms with inflexible furniture and limited access to electrical power that can be transformed into an inspiring and collaborative spaces. By updating the finish and lighting as well improving the furniture and technology options, we can create productive study and collaboration spaces with increased seating with access to electrical power. By preserving the original wood work and moldings, we believe we can still offer the appeal of a traditional library study space with the modern amenities our students need.

Digital Scholarship Services

ZSR’s centralized location promotes interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together faculty and students from a range of departments. This interdisciplinary element is at the center of the university’s mission for Digital Scholarship, which we define as employing multiple technologies – from digital tools to the printed book – to evaluate existing scholarship, generate new research questions, and produce new models of scholarly communication. Scholars must work together – beyond their field-specific modes of research – to redefine traditional paradigms of knowledge. The Digital Scholarship Collaboration Suite will encourage and support this important collaborative research, which will ultimately advance the ZSR Library’s mission of leading the campus in accessing, assessing, and teaching the use of new technologies and sources of information.

Special Collections & Archives

Special Collections and Archives hold the most valuable and unique research materials on campus. It is their responsibility to preserve these precious cultural artifacts in their original form as well as digitizing them, when possible, to share with researchers all over the globe. Our vision calls for a spacious, new Reading Room on the sixth floor of the original Reynolds wing of the library, as well as a classroom and gallery space. The prominent location increases visibility and exposure to collections and exhibits for both researchers and casual library visitors alike.