The Mitchell Memorial Library is expanding by 22,000 thousand square feet with the addition of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library on the fourth floor. The facility will be added to the 1875 section of the library, and will take between 18 months and two years to complete.
 The amenities will include office space for personnel, a processing space for restoration of artifacts and documents, a rotunda style lobby, orientation and reception and also space for tourists and researchers. 
The collection will hold life size statues of Grant and will span from his youth to his time as an iconic soldier, and his latter years. Adam Washington and Terrence Healy designed the exhibit and Skipp Wyatt of Foil and Wyatt construction is responsible for the construction and architecture.
The U.S Grant presidential library came about through a joint collaboration with President Keenum, the Grant Association, and the Dean Administrations office. The project is being funded through legislature and bond money, totaling in 7.2 million dollars, not including the interior design.
Only a few library operations and services have been affected by the construction.  Those services include the study corral, which has been relocated to the basement floor, a few offices and library personnel. The outside covering and sidewalk are being temporarily built for students and faculty safety during the construction process.
Francis Coleman, Dean and Professor over the general library, says that the expansion will give much needed space for our students.
“I think that this will be a great way for students, the university and this region to do research and to learn because the library isn’t just books anymore, it is about so much more.”
David Nolen, Associate Professor of the general library, also helped with the interior design and what type of content would be displayed in the exhibit.
“I think that this is a temporary inconvenience for something that will have such a greater impact in the long run. This will be much needed space for students, researches, and the overall general public who wants to experience something like this,” Nolen said.
For more information about the library updates, visit library.msstate.edu. Some other upcoming events at the library include Haley Barber coming to sign his book next week.