The properties and facilities committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees held a public meeting Thursday morning to approve several projects involving campus buildings. Pitt will also acquire a series of properties around Bates Street, Boulevard of the Allies and Zulema Street.

Pitt modified many of its buildings' hours to budget for additional study spaces, according to University spokesperson Pat McMahon.

Pitt’s libraries will be open this semester, but they will look much different than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes include shorter operating hours and facilities only open to Pitt faculty and students, with all visitors required to wear masks and swipe their Pitt IDs to enter. The libraries opened last Monday, excluding the music and Frick Fine Arts libraries, which will open today.

The construction on Bigelow Boulevard is now set to finish its third and final phase in October. It originally had an August completion date, before Welcome Week for incoming first-year students.

Employees of Pitt’s University Library System said they have repeatedly asked both the library and University administration in recent days to temporarily shutter the system in the wake of the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, citing health concerns.

Pitt plans to remodel the second floor after the third floor opens, followed by the first and ground floors. Fourth floor renovations were completed in fall 2018. The renovations are targeted to be finished entirely by 2023.

About 15 people gathered Monday afternoon in the Amy E. Knapp room on the ground floor of Hillman Library for Six Word Stories: an Interactive Exhibit.

Known widely as the father of the modern zombie movie, George A. Romero and his legacy have risen again in recent years following the filmmaker’s death in 2017.

For the month of February, Hillman Library will be home to the Ferguson Voices: Disrupting the Frame, an exhibit commemorating the events that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri.

As finals season approaches, more and more students have been dissatisfied with the noise level at Hillman as they migrate there to do last-minute cramming.