The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees has approved renovations for Thomas Cooper Library, McKissick Museum and Barnwell College.
These renovations are part of USC Next, a 10-year master plan that aims to meet the needs of students through four major goals. These goals include reinvigorating USC's historic campus core, improving the student-life experience, enhancing research capacity, and creating a new health sciences campus, according to the plan's website.
Thomas Cooper Library
The renovations to Thomas Cooper Library aim to reconfigure it to prioritize additional study spaces, according to a presentation provided by the university. Thomas Cooper Library was built in 1959 and has not been renovated since its expansion in 1976.
According to university architect Derek Gruner, the mechanical systems in the library are 50 years old and need to be replaced. There are aspects of the building that would not pass building codes if it were built today, he said.
“It has also been important to (USC President Michael Amiridis) and to all of us that the library really looked refreshed and looked like the kind of library that students expect in the 21st century," Gruner said.
Books will be moved from the main level and concentrated on the lower levels. This will give students more space to use on the main level where bookshelves currently are, according to the presentation.
“Students are studying and researching things differently than they did 50 years ago," Gruner said. "They’re not so dependent now on printed media."
In addition to books moving to lower levels of the library, the bathrooms will be modernized for better compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the presentation. Interior HVAC and electrical systems in the building will be getting updates as well, along with the addition of fire safety sprinkler systems, the presentation wrote.
The library will remain open to students while it is being renovated, and there will be zones where contractors will be working, according to Gruner. To divide the spaces on each floor where the contractors will work, there will be temporary walls put up to section off noise and dust, Gruner said.
Dean of Libraries David Banush said he is excited for the results of Thomas Cooper Library’s renovations.
“We look forward to working with our stakeholders and architects to begin the process of polishing this gem for future generations of Gamecocks," Banush said in a university statement.
The Thomas Cooper Library on Jan. 11, 2026, on Greene Street. Construction for the Thomas Cooper Library renovation is slated to begin in January 2027, with a projected completion in 2032.
McKissick Museum
McKissick Museum will receive several updates including the addition of classrooms, study spaces, a cafe and an improved visitor center, according to the presentation. There will also be a patio added to the museum, which Gruner said he hopes will bring more life to the surrounding Gibbes Green area.
Gibbes Green is the area next to the Horseshoe on campus that encompasses buildings like McKissick, Barnwell, Hamilton College, Sloan College and Davis College.
Along with these updates, HVAC and electrical systems in the building will be modernized with the addition of fire safety sprinklers. For the exterior of the building, any aged infrastructures and utilities will also be replaced, according to the presentation.
Parts of the museum, which are currently used to store art, will be converted into classroom spaces and study spaces on the upper levels, as well as a cafe on the lower levels, Gruner said. He hopes that McKissick’s renovations will turn a quiet building into a focal point on campus.
“What happens typically is students come to the visitor center when they’re high school seniors, and they come to USC, and they never go back into McKissick for the next four years,” Gruner said. “We’re going to change that and make it a really special, modern classroom building.”
The visitor center will also be renovated, with all-new audio and video technology, according to Gruner. It will continue to occupy the lower two floors of the four-floor building.
One major goal of the project is to preserve the sense of McKissick being a museum, Gruner said. He said he hopes that the art currently in exhibition spaces will be put throughout the building so more students can experience the collection held there.
Barnwell College
Like McKissick, Barnwell will be renovated on the inside and have all mechanical systems replaced, along with the addition of a sprinkler system. Barnwell is the last building in Gibbes Green that has not been renovated in the last 15 to 20 years, according to the presentation.
“We’ll really be closing the book on a significant campaign of capital renewal that the university has been doing in that area,” Gruner said. “It’s really a wonderful thing.”
Barnwell will also see the addition of numerous classrooms, meeting rooms, faculty offices, psychology research labs and offices, the presentation said. A monumental staircase will be added to connect a couple of the floors, according to Gruner.
These added classrooms will be what Gruner calls “general classrooms,” which means any major could have a class scheduled there. Barnwell will remain a building for the College of Arts and Sciences and the psychology department.
Gruner said the university’s goal is to make these buildings modern and work like new buildings. He said he hopes students will look forward to the results of these renovations.
“I deeply believe that the students are going to love these buildings when they open up in their renovated state,” Gruner said.