The West Virginia University Downtown Library Complex is located between Clark Hall and White Hall on the West Virginia University Downtown Campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. It is one of four WVU libraries along with the Evansdale, Law, and Health Sciences. The building consists of two separate libraries – Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library and Downtown Library. Since the origin of the Downtown/Wise Library, the complex has gained four floors of study rooms and computer workstations, rare collections housed in the Wise section of the library and a coffee shop.
Brief history
The West Virginia University Downtown Library was built in 1931. The original campus library was located in Stewart Hall, a beautiful Romanesque style building; however, the small size of Stewart Hall could not accommodate the growing student population, and University President John Roscoe Turner, among other university supporters, sought to build a new library. The University Library was then built on the former property of Israel Charles White which today stands between White Hall and Clark Hall [1].
In 1984, the University Library was renamed Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library. The Board of Regents chose to rename the library to honor Charles C. Wise, Jr. who was a lawyer and former student body president of WVU that had donated 4,260 acres (17.2 km2) of land to the WVU Foundation. A dedication ceremony was held on October 1, 1984.
In December 1996, a meeting was held to discuss a multi-million dollar renovation and addition to the Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library. Located in the front of the original library, this addition encompassed 124,000 square feet (11,500 m2) with five new levels added (four above ground). The Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library and the new addition are connected by an atrium. A giant skylight filters sunlight into the room, cascading down the original facade of the library. The library was completed in the spring of 2002.
 Wise Library |  Lower Level Floor Plan |  First Level Floor Plan |
 Sixth Level Floor Plan |
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