Davis Library Renovation Expected to Continue into 2025

Ellen Jin / The Exonian

By LOGAN BECKERLE, SAMAIYA JULY, DIYA SANDEEP, WILLIAM SHU, ANDREW YANG, and FORREST ZENG

     For a few months now, Academy students have anticipated the completion of the Davis Library renovations on the south side of campus.

     Currently, the building is peppered with scaffolding and surrounded by mounds of dirt. When completed, it will host new facilities for the Classics Department and other student activity centers. The Davis Library, however, is anything but new. First constructed in 1912 as a gift from alumnus Benjamin Price Davis, class of 1862, the building served as the Academy’s primary library for half a century, before retiring to the Class of 1945 Library in 1965. For the last few decades, it has occasionally served as a student center and a ballet studio—but for the most part, it has sat empty.

     Currently, the Classics Department is located in the Academy Building along with multiple other departments such as Mathematics, History, and Religion. After completion, the Davis Library will grant the Classics Department a wholly independent space and new classrooms.

     Although its construction has been delayed slightly, the renovations are estimated to be completed in late spring of 2025. “We’ll need to be ready to move in June, the day after graduation. Students can expect the library’s classrooms to be ready for class in September,” Classics Department Chair Sally Morris said.

     Throughout the summer, the construction crew made significant progress and are currently working on the interior of the building. “Over the summer, 15 geothermal wells were installed that will support the heating and cooling for Davis Library,” Director of Facilities Mark Leighton said. “Current activities include interior demolition for an elevator and new stairwell along with constructing four classrooms on the first floor.”

     Much of the library’s interior must be entirely renewed and refreshed for classroom and department office space. Due to an unexpected issue on the southeast entrance, construction has been delayed by a few months. “There was a segment of the building that needed to be gutted and completely rebuilt,” Morris continued. “It was mainly the side entry hall and stairwell, but it requires a substantial number of changes.”

     Paul Langford, an instructor in classic studies, says that instructors were also given the choice to give suggestions and their own input: “We have received regular updates and had opportunities to suggest adjustments to the plans.”

     The department’s move across Front Street will bring an additional fourth classroom, as well as a new Latin Study. “The renovated Davis Library will be the new home for Classical Languages and will have four first-floor classrooms with technology on par with other classrooms,” Leighton explained. “The second-floor spaces will include a restored ‘Reading Room’ and Amen Room that will be available to the community when completed.”

     “On the second floor of the Davis Library, there’s a beautiful library called the Amen Room,” Morris said, excited about its addition to the Classics Department in particular. “It has shelves from floor to ceiling, a little staircase with a balcony - a quintessential library.”

     To Morris, the Davis Library’s impressive classical facade fits the Department well. “They’re doing a great job with the renovation. The building already has a Neoclassical look to it, which is in keeping with the discipline of classical languages,” she said.

     Langford is similarly looking forward to using the classrooms and hopes that they can be used for other extracurriculars. “Although Davis was not designed as a classroom building, the spaces for the four classrooms seem manageable and we will have, I think, appropriate audio-visual equipment, including board space,” Langford noted. ”I hope they will have a very well-lighted and very attractive set of spaces for their classes and associated activities, such as the Kirtland Society.”

     “My understanding is that we will have the use of four rooms as classrooms, of one smaller one as a department room, and of two or three much smaller ones for various uses,” Langford continued.  “The Amen Room may be available for our use in ways similar to how we use and oversee the current Latin Study in the Academy Building.”

     Many students also look forward to a space solely dedicated to the classical languages. Prep Yeowoo Cho said, “I’m really looking forward to having this space that’s solely dedicated to Latin, and that’s going to help us learn more effectively because it’s a space where there are not so many other subjects going on. It’ll have more of a classical vibe. And I’m really excited for that.”

     Lower Jade Yoo mentioned, “I also am excited about the renovated facilities. I’m sure the rooms and building will look great and fresh.”

     “I’m excited to see the new Library,” agreed lower Leon Xie. “I think the facilities are going to be really nice, and it would make it interesting to be in class, getting to see what the architecture looks like.”

     The Davis Library will increase the Department’s physical presence on the campus. “I hope it’ll draw an interest, especially from incoming students, to see the facility,” lower Owen Cosgrove said.

     In addition to the indoor facilities of the Davis Library, students also look forward to the location of the building.

     Yoo added, “I am very excited for the location. For 8 a.m. Latin classes, I think that I will be able to always get breakfast from Elm before class without being late. Also, I believe having classes before and after lunch will be much more convenient. Especially for classes before lunch, I’m very excited to be able to escape the rush hour at Elm.”

     Lower Marvin Shim shared a similar opinion: “The main thing I look forward to is its location. Since usually I have Latin class after breakfast or around lunch, the Library being next to Elm would be convenient and quite an advantage to beat the lunch line.”

     Prep Srisha Boinapalli said, “I’m looking forward to it being close to my dorm. And also the library. So, if I have a free block before or after it, I can easily get to the two places where I spend most of my time.”

     Though many students and faculty look forward to seeing the new facilities, almost nobody has taken issue with the current facilities. For many, in fact, the current facilities feel like home. “I like the way things are right now,” said Xie. “The Academy Building is a nice spot to have our classics classes, even if a little difficult to get to because of the stairs that we have to climb to get there. I like the feel of the place, since there’s a lot of old books and cool sets of armor. It actually does a rather good job of placing you in that ‘study of the ancient arts’ mindset.”

     “I have no problem with the facilities,” Cosgrove said. “There are no inconveniences that I can find, though they could use some expansion.”

     Some students even expressed sadness about the relocation of the Classics Department. Since it has been situated in the Academy Building for decades, many people will miss the convenience and energy of the space once the move takes place. “There’s a lot of memorabilia and character in the classrooms. It’ll be hard to fathom that all of that sentimental value is going to be different a couple years from now,” said senior Paco Sze.

     “I’m sure our spirit and love for Latin won’t diminish because of a location change,” Yoo said. “But it is sad to let go of a place that has historically harbored Latin students for such a long time. I feel that the Latin study has a long tradition, with all of its busts, paintings, books, and old feel, so I am quite sad that I won’t be able to frequent it anymore, since I feel that it was a very essential part of the Classics program at Exeter.”

     Langford echoed this sentiment, saying, “It is unclear to whether the building as a whole will showcase classical studies and its heritage at the Academy (it is one of the ‘foundational’ departments) in its new name, through display of artwork and artifacts in the public spaces of the building, and so on.  It would also be wonderful and appropriate to have the fund that is underwriting a large portion of the renovation officially recognized in those spaces.”

     Others believe that the Davis Library is too far from other academic buildings and will make it hard to arrive to classes on time. “We are all just a tiny bit worried about the passing time,” Morris related. “It takes a long time already for students who might be on the third floor of the science center to reach the third floor of the Academy Building and vice versa. Add to that the traffic on Front Street, and we’re a bit worried about time.”

     Xie said “Because the Library is separate from the Academy Building, it might make it a longer walk from other classes in the Academy Building to Latin class. It’s possible we’d also lose a bit of the vibe cultivated by the well-used rooms of the Academy Building.”

     At the end of the day, the Davis Library will be a fresh start for the Classics Department to redefine its image for students. Sze, who will graduate before the completion of the renovations, concluded by imploring members of the Department to use the new facilities to their full extent. “The Davis Library should work to inspire and modernize the study of the classics,” he said. “I hope the classics department will welcome new students and make it open and accessible to all students.”