Author: Christopher Washington

The recent rebranding of the venerable H. V. Manning Library at Claflin University provides a blueprint for modernizing and expanding the capacity of the central resource for academic information and research materials on college campuses.  The H.V. Manning Library now has a new futuristic design that reimagines the facility as a hub for innovation, collaboration, and discovery.  This transformation represents more than just bricks and mortar. It symbolizes our dedication to providing our students and faculty with state-of-the-art resources and spaces that inspire creativity and achievement.

Among the features of the library are:

• Traditional Study Pods with seating for multiple students and Study Pods for individual students. These are equipped with magnetic dry erase boards, Smart TV monitors, w/cameras.
• Two (2) pods dedicated to Virtual Reality
• The traditional circulation checkout desk for books will be a student support resource that assists students with using various technologies for research and other projects.
• Additional workstations and “collaboration spaces” throughout the main floor.
• Panther Podcast Room equipped with acoustic wall panels, a microphone, a green screen, and lighting.
• A small café offering Just Baked, a patented vending machine that provides fresh baked foods, including White Castle Burgers. Just Baked has a capacity for 14 different food items.
• Traditional vending machines with assorted snacks, Pepsi and Starbucks vending machines

The three-story structure was built in 1967 and named for Dr. Hubert V. Manning, Claflin’s sixth president and an alumnus. It experienced several upgrades and renovations, the last in the early 2000s.