Fountains outside MSU Library could be removed as part of $11 million renovation

If you walk by the MSU Library’s North Plaza in the spring, you’re sure to see soon-to-be graduates taking senior photos by a pair of fountains.

The fountains were a gift from the class of 1968 and were later renovated by the classes of 1981 and 1983.

But more than 40 years later, the library is raising funds for a total redesign of the area.

Caitlyn Perry Dial, the director of development for the MSU Libraries, said the fountains are nearing the end of their useful lifespan.

“They’re only on for a few months of the year, but they’re frequently broken, and off for a lot of the year,” Dial said. “When they are on, sometimes they leak into Beal Garden.”

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Michigan State University

The redesigned area would make the library more accessible and would prioritize things like green space and outdoor seating with power outlets and internet access.

“A lot of people, when they approach the library from the north side, it’s either a left, right or through in terms of the decision you make when you enter the library,” Dial said. “We would like to renovate the North Plaza to invite people to stay, to linger and consider it an outside part of the library.”

Dial said the updated plaza would include new photo-ready features and would give students a space to study and relax outdoors.

“A concrete plaza, beautiful as it may have been, is not really something that creates that sense of belonging, and so we decided in this full-scale renovation, this is something that we’ve got to do,” Dial said.

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Dial said the library reached out to the senior class councils who gifted the fountains to include them in the process of redesigning the plaza but has received minimal feedback.

The university hopes to raise more than $11 million for the renovation. Work could begin as soon as next summer with successful fundraising.

“When people think about their time at MSU on campus, it’s usually this part of campus that comes to their memory,” Dial said. “So, to be able to support a project at the heart of campus, at the libraries, is something that I hope people might find an interest in.”