The pain of working on group projects will be eased a bit this semester, thanks to a recently-completed $17.3 million renovation of the Pattee Library.

After months of construction, Pattee unveiled its handsome new digs this afternoon. The renovation was intended to foster collaboration among students by increasing spaces for group-study.

Although we don’t expect you to stop by for at least a few days when the schoolwork actually begins to pick up, the space and its modern feel should make hitting the books a bit more comfortable — although the Harry Potter room will never not be cool.

One of the first stages of the project was revamping the basement-level entrance of Pattee. With MacKinnon’s Cafe long gone, you’re now greeted by an open courtyard with some outdoor seating that Lion Scouts will probably convince high schoolers we use every day and not three times a year when it’s actually warm enough not to be stuck inside.

Plenty of seating options are available throughout the building, but especially when you walk in — which is convenient for when you drop by to pass the time in between classes.

The team leading the redesign based its choices off of student input about features like mobile whiteboards and small, round tables.

Most of the furniture seems to be moveable and include outlets, which solves about 85% of the problems of going to the library.

But if you can’t find an outlet, you can always rent one.

Few things could be more student-friendly and conducive to group work than making caffeine more accessible. So when the Starbuck’s line is unbearable (read: always), you can pop by the Nescafe vending machine for your hourly fix of coffee, the sludge you are after.