The 72,000 square-foot, $26 million Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections library will open to the public Aug. 9.
The new library will house University archives and special collections as well as be a space for "collaborative programs using library resources," said Charlotte Morford, director of communications for University Libraries.
The upper floors, also known as the Harrison Institute, will be home to an auditorium boasting 200 seats.
Morford said the auditorium will be used as a University venue for public programs including lectures from visiting scholars.
There are also several studies for visiting scholars using the Harrison Institute and Small Library as resources for their work and research.
Morford said 80 percent of the library is underground in order to preserve the maximum amount of "green space" on Grounds.
She added this library is 40 years in the making.
In 1963, the University developed a three-point plan, in which it would add additional space to Alderman, create an undergraduate library, Clemons, and build additional space for its special collections library, "which is finally coming into fruition now," Morford said.
Although the physical building will open Aug. 9, many of the facilities and exhibits will not open until the grand opening in October.
The library will feature four exhibits highlighting several different collections within the University's special collections, Exhibits Coordinator Mercy Quintos said.
"The changing exhibit will take a look at the movement of people to, from and across the Americas from the time of Columbus to the 20th century," Quintos said.
There will also be a small display space that "helps tell the story of the history of U.Va.," Quintos said.
Morford said the names of each section of the library reflect the interests of the donors.
Albert Small is an alumnus of the University who has a renowned collection of American historical documents from the colonial period, including a John Dunlap broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence which he is donating to the library, in addition to his financial gift. The John Dunlap broadside is a copy of the Declaration from the first printing, written with the intention of being read aloud to colonists.
Another exhibit, Flowerdew Hundred, will include information about the historic plantation on the James River, currently owned by the Harrison family. The exhibit will highlight archaeology surrounding the plantation.
"Our hope is that it will be an active and welcoming environment for all of the University," Morford said.
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