Officially opening on Feb. 17, the Special Collections Library’s doors are now open to student workers and researchers — though librarians remain in the middle of a long move.

“Staff has just been moving into the building for several months. We were all real anxious to get over here and show off our collections,” said Jean Cleveland, the public relations director of the special collections library. ”We’ve already had researchers in, but we’re still in the process of getting everything up and running.”

The Special Collections Library will host a variety of items at the University including the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. KRISTY DENSMORE/Staff

According to the library’s website, the new building seeks to combine the three special collections present at the University, including items from the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscripts Library and the Richard B. Russell Library from Political Research.

The new building cost approximately $46 million, and two of the three special collections have been relocated. The third, material from the Peabody Awards Collection, is in the process of being moved to the new library.

“The three special collections libraries were located in the main library. There was a real lack of space. Things had gotten spread out over several locations” Cleveland said. “We needed more space for the collections. The new building also allows us to have greater security over the collection.”

Some students have already visited the new building.

“When I was there, there was not really much to see. There is still a lot of construction inside” said Patrick Klibianoff, a sophomore science and public relations major from Norcross.

Still, he is excited about the building’s imminent completion.

“They’ve been working on it since I was a freshman. I think it’s going to be a really cool exhibit. They’ve put a lot of time and money in it. Some of the students are really interested in seeing the collections that we do have,” Klibianoff said. “I think we have the constitution from the Confederacy. I saw it last semester, but it wasn’t a great way to see it in the main library.”

The library will in-fact house the constitution of the Confederate States of America, a 12-foot-long document.

“I think students will love it. The students that have been over for classes seem to enjoy it,” Cleveland said. “I think when we start having programs and events here, it will be a very popular spot on campus.”

The Special Collections Library is now open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.