Exciting changes ahead for one SMU library
With the new year comes exciting news for one of the SMU Libraries. The Lilly Endowment, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to community development, education and religion, has awarded Bridwell Library a $2.5 million grant through the foundation’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative, which has provided awards to only thirty-two institutions besides SMU. The grant will support the enhancement of exhibition spaces and preservation of special collections at Bridwell, as well as enable accessibility initiatives and hands-on academic and research experiences for library visitors.
These changes to Bridwell Library are grounded in the updating of library spaces. The grant will enable such projects as the renovation of the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Galleries; the partial reconfiguration of the current “Blue Room” to accommodate the World Methodist Museum collections; the construction of an antiquities museum to exhibit special collections, some of which are currently on display at the Dallas Museum of Art; and the development of a state-of-the-art historic printing and paper making lab.
“The Lilly grant will enable Bridwell Library to enhance its legacy of printing history, as well as expand more deeply into the global development of papermaking, which we’ll now be able to teach in these new spaces. The antiquities museum and enhanced gallery spaces will also be a draw to the public, which we hope will want to visit and engage with our collections,” says Anthony Elia, J.S. Bridwell Foundation Endowed Librarian and Director of Bridwell Library.
The planning for these changes at Bridwell has been in the works for some time. The Lilly Endowment’s initial $100,000 planning grant enabled Bridwell’s strategic research of the newly conceived spaces, through an extensive study of museum, exhibition, and conservation lab spaces around the world. The study of over one-hundred museums, libraries, cultural institutions, printing shops, and papermaking studios informed the planning of Bridwell’s upcoming renovations, providing key elements of the design process for architects providing conceptual drawings of Bridwell.
The intensive dive into domestic and international museums, libraries, and organizations dealt with historical papermaking, the history and development of printing presses and print technology, and various auxiliary book and paper arts, as well as exhibition design, lighting, projection and interactive technologies for visitors. This research proved important, as the renovations will also include upgrades to lighting and audio/visual technology to improve accessibility and exhibitions at the library.
With this grant and the opportunities it provides, Bridwell Library is well-equipped to preserve history and the arts in a technological age, while providing exceptional educational and research experiences for all who visit.
“The updates at Bridwell will ensure its prominence as a library at the forefront of change, and SMU Libraries eagerly anticipates the positive impact it will have on the Hilltop and beyond,” says Holly E. Jeffcoat, Dean of SMU Libraries. The future is bright for the SMU Libraries, with exciting changes ahead.