Rider announces renovation plan for Moore Library

Rider University announced on Jan. 31 renovation plans that will make significant improvements to Moore Library while also creating within the library dedicated spaces intended solely for the materials and collections of Talbott Library.

The transfer of Talbott’s holdings to Moore is part of Rider’s larger plan to fully integrate its two campuses beginning in the fall when the programs of Westminster Choir College move from Princeton to Lawrenceville.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs DonnaJean Fredeen outlined the plans in a letter to the campus community.

“Our goal was to preserve student and faculty access to Talbott's important scholarly resources while improving Moore Library in ways that will benefit all Rider students,” she wrote. “I'm very encouraged that the resulting vision will achieve these goals.”

A new circulation desk will greet visitors to Moore Library when they enter the building on the second floor. The changes to the second floor, where most patrons enter the building, were designed to create a more open and efficient working area. Four existing offices will be moved to this area, and a new conference room for staff and a computer area for students will be created. The 24-hour study lounge will be removed and reestablished in the Student Recreation Center.

Bigger changes are planned for the library’s top two floors, which will become the new home for Talbott’s resources. On the top floor, a new space will be created solely dedicated to housing scores, choral music titles, sound and video recordings, and more, as well as Talbott’s Special Collections. On the third floor, brand new offices for the Talbott faculty and staff will be created, as will a new circulation area for Talbott materials.

Rider’s Historic Typewriter and Business Machine Collections will be moved to the second floor, where they will be publicly displayed. The machine collection reflects Rider's early roots as a business school. It contains typewriters and other business-related machines, such as stenography machines, dating back to the 1870s. Rider’s Rare Book Collection will also be relocated to the second floor. The oldest volume in the collection dates from 1550.

Riderana, the University’s archive collection, will be expanded to include appropriate materials from both Talbott and Moore. The archives consist of materials reflecting the history of Rider, including maps, committee minutes, photographs, correspondence and memorabilia. The Talbott archives hold materials documenting the history of Westminster Choir College, dating back to the founding of the school in 1926.

All current offices on the third floor will be preserved. On the ground floor, no changes are currently expected.

The plans for Moore and Talbott were created with input from librarians from the Princeton and Lawrenceville campuses, as well as other faculty and staff. Work on the project is expected to begin by March and continue through the summer. The library will remain open and accessible during construction.

“I'm delighted that this plan, which is the result of a collaborative effort, allocates the necessary space to continue the extraordinary work of our library faculty and staff in meeting the needs of the Rider community,” Fredeen says.

Situated at the top of the Campus Mall, Moore Library is one of the most visible buildings on campus. It has served students, faculty and staff as a comprehensive general library since 1965. The library is named in honor of Franklin F. Moore, Rider's third president.