The flagship of the Cornell University library system, the John M. Olin Library houses a two-million print volume collection and the central administrative services for the library system. Chiang | O’Brien Architects was selected to design and implement a renovation of the second-floor space, which formerly served as stack space, required the consolidation of scattered administrative support offices into a single location adjacent to the main administrative offices.

The newly created offices on the second-floor provide space for the return of public study and research areas to graduate students on the west end of the fifth-floor.

The new reading areas include two large reading rooms with tables and soft seating, a group study room, two smaller reading areas, two breakout rooms for small study groups, lockers, a computer area, and a print/copy room for exclusive use by graduate students and faculty. The fifth-floor collections housed in this suite focus on the social sciences and humanities.