The Main Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the forward facing structure that represents the second largest university library collection in the United States. The structure was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The library was purposely built away from the center of campus, a break from traditional campus planning, to allow the building to expand. This proved necessary; the library's holdings grew from 649,924 volumes in 1926 to one million volumes in 1935.

With Illinois Campaign

University Library

Celebrating the impact of your generosity

“The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.”
—T.S. Eliot

I am awed by and truly grateful for the tremendous support that Friends of the Library have had throughout the With Illinois Campaign. Our world has seen great changes and struggles during the course of this campaign, and yet our donors have remained dedicated to our mission of ensuring access to information, knowledge, and learning through the University of Illinois Library.

As one of the largest and most expansive library collections in the world, we have the great responsibility to our students, researchers, faculty and the world to keep this amazing collection within reach for all! Our supporters are answering this call, and THANKS TO YOU, we are creating a new Archives and Special Collections building which will open in 2024. Our efforts to transform the Library are ongoing, and we look forward to sharing our progress in the years to come.

Kathryn Risor-Heise
Senior Director of Advancement Operations

With Illinois Impact

As we mark the end of the With Illinois Campaign, the University Library has been transformed by donor support.

33567727 Dollars Raised

5397 Campaign Donors

16082 Campaign Gifts

2500000 Largest Single Gift

838 First-Time Donors

Donors from 50 States and 27 Countries

With Illinois Highlights

Your support has helped us continue to elevate the values that make Illinois distinctive: a sense of boundless aspiration, collaboration, and a global perspective.

Jim and Lionelle Elsesser Gift Provides Exhibition Space for Library Treasures

The St. Louis couple’s most recent gifts will support significant acquisitions for the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the creation of exhibition space to display the University Library’s treasures in the planned Archives and Special Collections building. Read more.

Oram Gift Honors Family Connections

A gift from Richard ’73 LAS and Conna Oram ’72 LAS says much about their personal generosity but also speaks loudly of their ties to each other and to the University of Illinois campus. Their gift to help create a new home to house archives and special collections will name a space that pays homage to their families—The Oram and Judy Families Reading Room. Read more.

Alumni Couple Invests in Library's Future

When Steve and Megan Shebik peer into their vision for the future, they see a modern library for students and faculty, a renovated space capped by a jewel-box top that would anchor the area just south of the University of Illinois Quad. The literally transparent environs of the newly renovated building would beckon students and passers-by, encouraging them to examine the Library’s treasures, take advantage of easy access to scholarship and collaboration, and revel in a setting that focuses that part of campus. Just as the Bardeen Quad and other changes revitalized the north end of the campus, so too do the Shebiks see the Library’s building project as a major game changer for the south. And with that belief, the couple pledged a generous gift to help launch the library building project. Read more.

With Illinois Moments

Take a look at a few of the moments that have shaped the culture and character of the University Library during the With Illinois Campaign.

A new service point on the Main Library’s first floor opened in January 2020 just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it is the busiest service point in the Main Library.

New flooring in the Main Library’s historic Reading Room was installed. Wiring underneath the floating floor gives each table better connectivity. Lamps were added to each table to provide better lighting throughout the space.

New collaborative spaces are being created at the Main Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which is the forward facing structure that represents the second largest university library collection in the United States. The structure was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The library was purposely built away from the center of campus, a break from traditional campus planning, to allow the building to expand. This proved necessary; the library's holdings grew from 649,924 volumes in 1926 to one million volumes in 1935.

Orange Boxes were added to the Library in 2020. These enclosed, portable units are equipped with whiteboards, flat screens, internet access, adjustable lighting, recording capabilities, and their own ventilation system.

On April 19, 2022, the Library Friends co-hosted its first in-person event in two years with a poetry reading by Richie Hofmann, author of A Hundred Lovers, in the beautiful Temple Buell Architecture Gallery.

University Library - Library Friends event at the Undergraduate Library, September 27, 2019.

The Library Friends celebrated all the ways in which the Library supports undergraduate success at a special event on September 27, 2019. Guests were treated to various Library exhibits and presentations.

The Board of Trustees approved the first phase of the Library’s building project. Phase One will transform the Undergraduate Library building into a facility housing the University Archives, the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, and The Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Read more.

Continue Your Support

Your continued support ensures the University Library remains a place where progress and innovation can flourish. Find your passion and help us dream even bigger!

See Priorities

See More Impact

Philanthropy has benefited students, faculty, and staff in many ways. Browse the list below to learn more about how the With Illinois Campaign’s impact can be felt across campus.