HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — James Madison University (JMU) celebrated the reopening of Carrier Library today, September 10, 2026, after closing for renovation in June of 2023.

After more than a decade of planning and three years of construction, Carrier Library has reopened as a nearly 200,000-square-foot destination at the heart of campus, which according to JMU officials combines new construction with restored and renovated spaces into a modern, accessible facility that honors JMU’s history while advancing its future.

JMU President Dr. James C. “Jim” Schmidt said during the ceremony that Carrier in many ways is where conversations and discoveries begin to define a university. 

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Historic Entrance of Carrier Library. Photo credit: Carolynn Unger.

“Libraries occupy a special place in higher education,” said President Schmidt. “They preserve knowledge, spark curiosity, and connect us to the past while helping us imagine the future.”

It is one of four locations in the JMU Libraries system, which serves the university and broader community through reported expertise in librarianship, archives, instructional design, and educational technology across physical and online spaces.

Carrier Library is also the new home of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, connecting the work of the nation’s first academic center devoted to Black poetry with ongoing efforts to digitize and preserve the center’s distinctive collections stewarded by JMU Libraries.