University Libraries

      Paterno Library entrance summer closure to improve plaza

      Pattee Library and Paterno Library’s East Entrance off Curtin Road to be closed for summer 2023 beginning Monday, May 8, will replace sidewalk, plaza and entrance doors; improve drainage and landscaping; and fix subsurface leaks into the library basement

      Summer 2023 construction impacting Pattee Library and Paterno Library’s East Entrance will close the entrance off Curtin Road beginning Monday, May 8. The major maintenance project will replace the sidewalk, plaza and entrance doors; improve drainage and landscaping; and fix subsurface leaks into the library basement. It also will relocate the "Stacks" sculpture and donor tiles to a more central focal point.   Credit: Provided by the Office of Physical Plant. All Rights Reserved.

      UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will begin a major maintenance project on the east entrance of Pattee Library and Paterno Library on Monday, May 8. Temporary, summer-long closure of the University Park library entrance plaza, Curtin Road drop-off parking spaces, and the underpass stairwell will enable crews to remediate issues affecting Paterno Library below-ground workspaces and weather-related deterioration of existing hardscape, masonry, entry doors and underpass stairs. 

      The major maintenance project will fix sidewalks and stormwater drainage; relocate donor pavers and “Stacks,” the large-scale sculpture created by Peter Calaboyias, to the center of the entrance plaza; and improve aesthetics with additional landscaping. This project also will fix a longstanding issue with leaks into the library basement space directly below the plaza. The project is scheduled for completion prior to the start of fall 2023 classes.

      The two south-facing entrances to Pattee Library and Paterno Library will remain open to the public during the project’s duration. One is atop a set of stairs facing the Pattee Mall and the other is a handicapped-accessible entrance at the ground floor level of West Pattee Library adjacent to the northern end of Fraser Road. 

      The canopied Curtin Road book return will be inaccessible during the summer; library users can return books inside Pattee Library and Paterno Library at the first floor’s central book drop slot, at any University Park branch library return slot or service desk, as well as book returns available in the HUB-Robeson Center and the Earth and Engineering Sciences Building.  

      Borrowed library items may be returned at any Schlow Centre Region Library book return location, including remote book drops around the Greater State College area as part of the two library systems’ reciprocal materials-return agreement. 

      Generally, any University Libraries item borrowed from the general stacks may be returned to any other Penn State University Libraries campus location across the commonwealth. Periodicals, course reserve and all special permission materials should be returned to the service desk from which they were borrowed. 

      Summer library hours by location are posted on the University Libraries website. Pattee Library and Paterno Library’s summer hours are 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays, closed Saturdays from Monday, May 8, through Saturday, Aug. 19. 

      Questions about the project may be submitted using a public intake form.  

      Last Updated May 8, 2023

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