Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room blessed, dedicated during weekend ceremony

July 28, 2023; Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room in Hesburgh Library, in the area formerly referred to as the fishbowl. (Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)

The Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room, the newest Hesburgh Library space to undergo a dramatic redesign, is open for students and faculty thanks to a generous gift from former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz in memory of his wife, Beth. Education and faith were of great importance to Beth Holtz — this space honors her devotion to learning and love of libraries.

The space was blessed by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and formally dedicated on September 23, 2023. Coach Lou Holtz was joined by his family and friends, along with University leadership and special guests.

“The Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room harnesses intellectual, imaginative, and scholarly energy in productive and beneficial ways for our students. We are pleased to honor Beth and Lou Holtz, and their family, in the naming of this space they so generously made possible. It is an enduring testament to the value they place on education, and we anticipate it will encourage and foster human flourishing.”
K. Matthew Dames, Edward H. Arnold Dean, Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press

The newly transformed Grand Reading Room was designed to inspire focused and contemplative intellectual work, which is as vital to academic success as the renewed collaborative spaces throughout the building.

The 20,000-square-foot, two-story space is furnished with more than 250 table seats for individual study and comfortable seating around a large enclosed fireplace. Natural light now floods the space and a 100-pendant light installation hangs in the center of a new atrium, creating a magical ambiance. Walls of windows provide expansive views of west campus, including the Basilica’s spire and the Dome of the Main Building.

Leisure Periodicals, Current Newspapers, Catholic Newspapers, and the new Notre Dame Authors Collection are now centrally located just outside of the first floor Grand Reading Room entrance. These print collections are surrounded by individual and group study options and a selection of art from Segura Arts Studio which focuses on work from underrepresented artists on issues of social justice.

The Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room project began under the leadership of Diane Parr Walker, university librarian from July 2011 to July 2021. The development of the space was completed under the leadership of K. Matthew Dames who was appointed Edward H. Arnold Dean of the Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press in August 2021.

A campus-wide open house for the Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room is planned for Wednesday, September 27, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Since 2014, thanks to the renewed vision of University and Hesburgh Libraries leadership, coupled with generous benefaction, the Hesburgh Library has undergone a comprehensive interior renovation to meet the rapidly changing demands of students, faculty, and staff. Library and University leaders continue planning and fundraising to help align library spaces with the Hesburgh Libraries’ mission, vision, and strategic framework designed to advance the University’s research, teaching, and learning mission while fostering Notre Dame’s engagement with the global scholarly community.

Learn more and see highlights of the before-and-after transformations.

This article was originally published on September 26, 2023 on the Hesburgh Librairies website.