Moffitt Library is a meeting place for friends, a destination for doggo devotees, and one of the most popular study spots on campus.
And after fall finals this year, the beloved library will close for renovations, which, once finished, will make Moffitt an even more coveted corner of the UC Berkeley campus.
“I know this loss will leave a huge hole in my heart that only being able to have a nice study sesh in Moffitt could provide me,” one student recently wrote in a loving lament.
But fear not: Here, we’ve compiled everything you need to know during Moffitt’s closure — including where to study in the meantime.
When is Moffitt Library closing, and when will it reopen?
Moffitt will close at 10 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2024, and is scheduled to reopen at the beginning of fall semester 2026.
Why is Moffitt closing?
Moffitt’s lower three floors will undergo a renovation that will add hundreds of new spaces where students can learn, make, reflect, and collaborate with one another. The project will usher into reality the vision for the Center for Connected Learning, a hub for innovation and creativity.
What will happen to the services normally offered at Moffitt during the closure?
Students who rely on Moffitt as a study sanctuary can find other libraries — including some lesser-known gems — across campus that might tickle their fancy. More on that below.
The Free Speech Movement Café will operate at the spot that Press cafe usually occupies, just outside Moffitt’s fourth-floor entrance, near Memorial Glade.
The Copy Center will temporarily relocate to 105 Doe, and the Student Tech Help Desk will move to 190 Doe, across from Morrison Library.
Where can I study while Moffitt is closed?
We encourage you to take this opportunity to venture across campus and discover other libraries. You might just find your new favorite study spot. See a map of the libraries on campus.
Please note: Hours are subject to change. Before you visit a library, check our hours page to make sure it’s open.
You are welcome at all of the UC Berkeley Library’s locations, regardless of your major or discipline. Each of the locations listed below offer open-seating study space on a first-come, first-served basis, along with other features, highlighted here.
Bioscience, Natural Resources & Public Health
- More than 300 seats
- Expected to open by late February after a renovation; study space on the first floor remains open
Chemistry, Astronomy & Physics
- Includes spaces for collaboration
- Extended evening and weekend hours (Cal ID required starting at 7 p.m. daily)
- Home to the Art History/Classics, Graduate Services, Morrison, Newspapers & Microforms, and South/Southeast Asia libraries
- More than 400 seats in the Heyns and North reading rooms
- Additional seating in 190 Doe (first floor, across from Morrison Library) and the Reference Hall (second floor between the North and Heyns reading rooms)
- Reservable room
- Extended evening and weekend hours expected
- Reservable rooms
- Expected to open in late March after a renovation
- Reservable room
- Drinks with lids and snacks allowed
- Same long hours; enter and exit via Doe Library
- Reservable rooms
- Drinks with lids and snacks allowed
- Quiet atmosphere
- Drinks with lids and snacks allowed
How can I fill the hole in my heart left by Moffitt’s closure?
As you explore new places to study, we hope you’ll be as enchanted as we are by the natural light-filled spaces in the C. V. Starr East Asian Library, the cozy, wooded feel of the Social Research Library, the architectural splendors of Doe Library’s reading rooms, and many other delightful destinations sprinkled throughout campus.
For the latest updates on Moffitt — and other news about the university’s libraries — follow the UC Berkeley Library on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
In the meantime, we look forward to the day Moffitt reopens its doors, and more Bears than ever fill its spaces!