Morgridge Hall Opens Door to New Library Space on UW–Madison Campus

Along with the opening of Morgridge Hall in Fall 2025, the new School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences Library has opened its doors to the UW-Madison campus community.

Located on the second floor of the building within the Rebecca M. Blank Student Commons, the library is intended to be a “service-oriented space” as well as the newest circulating location and campus partner of UW-Madison Libraries.

Rebecca Millerjohn, CDIS Commons Director, will draw on her diverse career experiences empowering young people to guide the offerings and services in the new space.

The Commons was designed to provide “versatile workspaces and traditional library functions, as well as an information desk to assist visitors, and open and reserve collections to support academic coursework and research.”

The location of the new library also increases access for students, faculty, and staff who may have relied on the AMP Library nearby, which was closed at the beginning of the 2025 semester.

“Our goals for the first semester centered on creating a welcoming, supportive, and engaging new space for our students in CDIS and beyond in the new building – and we couldn’t be happier with the results,” says Millerjohn. Students feel valued; they know how to seek help and are comfortable doing so. We’re seeing high levels of student engagement in all of our services. This semester, we’re eager to present more opportunities for student voice in our program design, collections, and service.”

While the CDIS Library operates under the umbrella and funding of CDIS, it will do so in close partnership and with the support of UW-Madison Libraries. Reference Student Managers at the CDIS Library have received all of the same training as reference students at other library locations across campus.

“As the iSchool transitioned its departmental library to the new building serving a wider audience, UW Libraries offered staff support to build up the access services capacity,” says Carrie Kruse, Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement at Libraries. “With the staff sharing arrangement, we are thrilled to have a stronger connection with the new CDIS Library operations.”

In addition, Patrick Leeport, Teaching and Learning Librarian and faculty member in the iSchool, will provide dedicated support at the CDIS Library. Leeport has extensive expertise in Libraries and Information Studies and recently accompanied 10 iSchool students to ACRL 2025, the leading conference for academic and research librarians.

“Our first semester has been amazing; you can feel the energy throughout all of Morgridge Hall, but especially so in the Commons,” says Leeport. “Throughout planning, moving, and opening in the new space, iSchool students have had tremendous opportunities to learn and lead. The Commons has expanded our opportunity to continue being a laboratory for iSchool students, while also providing the chance to serve the broader CDIS community.”

Learn more about the CDIS Commons & Library on the CDIS website.