Thomas Cooper Library, the main library of the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia, will be renovated to bring its spaces and infrastructure up to date for the needs of tomorrow following action by the University’s Board of Trustees last month.
On December 16, 2025, the Trustees voted to approve the next phase of the renovation plan, a $65M project that will improve life safety, replace heating and cooling systems, update electrical infrastructure, and make significant programmatic improvements to the building. A final phase, with an estimated $42M budget, will come before the Board for another vote, anticipated in 2027.
The project’s initial stage, a feasibility and cost estimate study, concluded in late 2025. Since early spring of that year, faculty and staff in University Libraries, along with Dean of Libraries David Banush, University Architect Derek Gruner, and staff in USC Planning, Design, and Construction, have worked with architects and engineers to lay out goals for the project, explore sequencing of work, and estimate costs. The next part of the project will involve final detailed designs, planning for operations during the construction period, and other preparatory work. Construction is set to begin in January 2027, with the work concluding in 2032.
Infrastructure needs—a new heating and air conditioning system, installing a fire suppression system, and increasing power to the building—are a crucial component of the project. But the renovation also aims to bring more flexible work and study spaces for USC’s growing student population, create technology-enriched collaborative and instruction spaces, and provide upgraded working environments for faculty and staff. Restoring and preserving the midcentury modernist aesthetic of the upper levels is another important goal.
“We are most fortunate to have the University’s support to reimagine this wonderful building for the future,” notes Dean Banush. “Opportunities to do comprehensive renovations to a building this large are rare. We look forward to working with our stakeholders and architects to begin the process of polishing this gem for future generations of Gamecocks.”
Thomas Cooper Library (TCL), designed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone, opened in 1959 as an undergraduate library. In 1976, the University significantly expanded the building to replace McKissick Library (now McKissick Museum) as its central library. A campus icon, TCL spans seven levels and contains approximately 280,000 square feet. Perkins/Eastman, an international architecture firm, is working with Columbia-based Quackenbush Architects and Planners to plan the next stage of the library’s evolution.