Late last year, Ohio State University (OSU) library director Joseph Branin graciously invited this author to visit for an up-close look at the William Oxley Thompson library renovation and construction project underway on his campus. He eagerly accepted. Since 2001, when he first began reporting on the project, he has been amazed by the plan, its size and ambition: at about $106 million, it may be the largest university library renovation in the nation's history, and one with a lot of moving parts. The project aims both to restore OSU's library to its early 1900s architectural glory and equip it for the next era of library work. It is a major undertaking that requires $30 million in outside fundraising, the unwavering support and as much as $76 million from the OSU administration, and considerable political will in the state. It also requires patience from OSU students, faculty, and library staff as the Thompson library, the main library on campus since 1913, now closed until 2009, has been replaced by a network of temporary "swing spaces" and services. And, of course, there are the considerable engineering, design, and philosophical challenges of remaking a major university library system in the midst of a digital revolution. To demonstrate its commitment to academics, Ohio State University (OSU) has undertaken one of the largest, most involved library renovations in U.S. history. The renovation represents the only building project named in OSU's Academic Plan and includes the largest capital allocation ever for the improvement of an academic building.