Remodeling starts at LBJ Library

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Starting Monday, the core exhibits at the LBJ Library on The University of Texas campus will close to the public as renovation work on the ground floor and Great Hall begins. The redesign will take the remainder of the year to complete.

The last major renovation of the LBJ Library was in 1984, and the redesign calls for a more contemporary, interactive experience for visitors.

Not all areas of the museum are yet closed, however. The public can visit exhibits on the 10th floor, which include the Oval Office and First Lady's Gallery, until mid-July, when they too will close for renovation.

The library's reading room will not close, but remain open for researchers' use Monday through Friday each week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The reading room is always closed on federal holidays. Researchers who plan to visit the facility are asked to notify the library's supervisory archivist of their research topic and travel plans as far as in advance as possible.

Some of the collections housed at the LBJ Library include the Pentagon Papers , LBJ's daily diary , selected speeches and messages , Lady Bird Johnson's oral histories and audio recordings made on Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

This is a new day for LBJ, says Mark K. Updegrove, LBJ Library director. President Johnson insisted that the LBJ Library present an unvarnished look at his presidency, along with the triumphs and turmoil of the times. Now is our opportunity to present this story using 21st century technology with state-of-the art interactive elements.

The remodeling is being funded by private donations from the nonprofit Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, which also provides grants for scholars and researchers who utilize the library's collections.

A grand opening will be celebrated in December, in conjunction with what would have been Lady Bird Johnson's 100th birthday. The library was dedicated on May 22, 1971.

The new features of the redesign include:

Online exhibits of an LBJ timeline and his daily diary records will remain accessible to the public.

Original post:
Remodeling starts at LBJ Library