The New Library on Villanova's Campus Will Issue You a Card if You Live in Radnor or Lower Merion

Walk in past the Library Services Desk at Vic Maggitti Hall and you're in a light-filled central atrium. Off it are the Speakers' Corner lecture space, a Villanova Heritage Room, an Augustine Heritage Room and a Distinctive Collections Reading Room with rotating exhibits. Villanova University officially opened the building on Oct. 19, 2026 as the new home of Falvey Library. It covers 150,000 square feet and cost $130 million. Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed it, Turner Construction built it, and ground was broken in summer 2024. The student newspaper, The Villanovan, covered the ribbon-cutting and described the hall as the combined new home of the former main and old Falvey libraries.

The library's membership page lets residents of Radnor and Lower Merion townships apply for borrowing privileges. Villanova straddles those two townships, so the new library works more like a neighborhood library than a building behind a campus gate. The rest of the campus calendar this late fall works the same way: low prices, weeknight hours and a public door.

A Card for Two Townships

Falvey's courtesy membership policy lists five groups who can apply for borrowing and on-site database privileges. Villanova alumni are one. Radnor and Lower Merion township residents are another. The library says there is currently no membership fee, and the card renews each year.

Here's how to apply, according to the policy page:

1. Bring a current utility bill showing your address.
2. Bring a Pennsylvania driver's license, a voter registration card or another valid government-issued ID.
3. Apply in person at the Library Services Desk on the first floor of Vic Maggitti Hall.
4. Apply again each year to keep borrowing.

A card gives you more than walk-in access does. These are the main limits for courtesy members:

Current journals don't circulate. Some services are for enrolled students only: Pick Up & Go, interlibrary loan through EZBorrow and ILLiad, and document delivery. Your account is blocked if you owe more than $10. The 400,000-volume general collection is on the lower level in compact shelving you can browse. A Villanova Authors collection of books by faculty is on the ground floor.

What You Can See Without a Card

You don't need a card to come in. Under the library's visitor policy, visitors not affiliated with Villanova can enter when service hours begin and stay until 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, or 4:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Visitors check in at the Library Services Desk with a current photo ID. Service hours begin at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. On a weekday, that's most of the day. The same page says visiting hours are subject to change around university breaks and holidays. Thanksgiving is Nov. 26, so check the service calendar before you go that week.

For a walk-in visit, the building's public rooms are the draw. The university's announcement says items from Falvey's Distinctive Collections are on display in several spaces around the hall. The Villanova Heritage Room covers the university's history and traditions. The Augustine Heritage Room covers the works of St. Augustine and the Order of St. Augustine. Library Dean Millicent Gaskell described the building's purpose in the university's press release:

"It offers the entire Villanova community a welcoming space that fosters intellectual exploration, advances learning and supports meaningful scholarship across disciplines."

Speakers' Corner already has a public program. In its first weeks, the library booked Matt Kerbel for a Nov. 10 talk in Room 125 on the 2026 midterm elections. The listing called it free and open to all. The library's events page shows what comes next.

The Same Open Door, Across Campus

Much of the rest of the season's campus programming is free or priced between $5 and $30.

The Villanova University Art Gallery says admission is always free and open to the public. Its current exhibition, "Hearts of the Harvest: Seeds, Stories, and Sovereignty," runs through Jan. 22, 2027. Jeremy Dennis of Ma's House & BIPOC Art Studio guest-curated the show with the gallery. It features Shinnecock artists and Indigenous alumni of Ma's House working in photography, painting, leatherwork, film and installation. Part of its inspiration is Seeds We Bury, a Villanova student documentary that links the Ati Tribe of Boracay in the Philippines and the Shinnecock Nation.

On publication day, Nov. 12, author Oscar Hokeah gives a talk titled "Calling for a Blanket Dance" in the Fedigan Room at Saint Augustine Center. The listing says it is free and open to the public.

The John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts charges $5 to $30 for its fall shows. At Finneran Pavilion, most women's basketball home games before mid-December are listed from $15. The Nov. 24 game against La Salle is billed as New Cats on Campus/Family Fun Day and costs $10.

Here is what's on campus from publication day through mid-December:

Mullen Center tickets are sold through the university box office. The Villanova Theatre production of Spring Awakening carries a content advisory for mature subject matter. The Dec. 2 tree lighting is described on the university's Christmas page as an annual community event. It includes a Blessing of the Children, performances by the Villanova Voices & Singers, a holiday light show, firepits, s'mores and a visit from Santa.

Many of these overlap with library visitor hours. You could pick up a book at Maggitti Hall before the 7:30 p.m. visitor cutoff and walk over to Topper Theatre for an 8 p.m. curtain. On Nov. 24, a $10 women's game at 11:30 a.m. and a men's game at 7 p.m. are both at Finneran Pavilion on the same day.

Parking, and the Station Rebuild Ahead

The university's parking office sends visitors to the I-1 Garage on the southeast corner of Ithan and Lancaster avenues. The entrance is on Ithan Avenue. You take a ticket at the gate and pay at the kiosk by the main pedestrian entrance on Floor 2, or with the QR code on your ticket. Exit lanes take credit cards only. The first hour is free, one to two hours costs $5, and two to four hours costs $10. A lost ticket costs $50. A quick stop to return books or browse the atrium fits in the free hour. A play or a basketball game will usually run into the paid tiers. The Mullen Center lists the same garage as its parking. The university's other lots require permits.

Arriving by Regional Rail will look different soon. SEPTA's Villanova Station Improvements page says design is underway on a rebuild of the Paoli/Thorndale line stop. Plans include ramps to new high-level platforms, new shelters and renovated canopies, and the station's historic platform and canopies will be kept. The page lists construction from early 2027 to fall 2030.

Living near a campus like this one shapes everyday life in ways a listing doesn't capture. That's true whether it's a library card from your township, a $10 weekday game or a tree lighting a short walk from home. If you're weighing a move within Radnor or Lower Merion, or thinking about what your Villanova home offers the next owner, Arielle Roemer can walk you through it block by block. Schedule a Consultation.