Hundreds of prospective students will converge on Eastern’s campus Monday for an open house that will include a “sneak preview” of Booth Library.

Booth Library’s renovated and restored north lobby, a main focal point of the original library, will be made open to the public. From the lobby, the public will be able to see three separate rooms of the new library.

“Not only will the lobby be open for the students, faculty and staff of the campus, but also for our prospective students that will be on campus that day,” Shirley Stewart, interim vice president for student affairs, said Sunday.

“I think they will be very impressed,” she said. “The part they will be able to see, the north entrance, makes an outstanding first impression.”

To view the rest of the library, the campus will have to wait until Thursday when Booth opens for the first time in more than 30 months. The library has been closed for more than two and a half years as it underwent a $21 million renovation and expansion.

The Admissions Office is hosting Monday’s open house, which begins with a check-in at 8 a.m., for some 300 to 600 high school seniors, said Shelley Friesz, admissions counselor and orientations coordinator.

Those attending the open house are primarily students who will “definitely be coming here next fall,” she said.

Friesz also said that a number of Eastern students, faculty and staff members will give the tours throughout the day.

The tours will highlight various campus buildings, including the lobby of the new Booth Library, the renovated bowling alley and the new food court, Friesz said.

Residence hall tours will also be given from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, she said.

“This is the first time that we will give a tour of a greek house, along with all of the other residence halls,” Friesz said.

Prospective students can attend a “browsing session” from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. It will feature booths from different Eastern academic departments.

“(The browsing session) is kind of like a college fair, but it features academic departments here at Eastern instead,” Friesz said.

The open house attendees will also be treated to a complimentary lunch in any of Eastern’s dining centers.

The admissions office hosts five tours per year. Campus tours are available every day, but Friesz mentioned that potential students get a “much better feel” for what Eastern has to offer during an open house.

“Open houses are definitely more beneficial,” she said. “Students can talk to faculty members in their particular field of study and current Eastern students about what Eastern has to offer them.”

Friesz said that the open houses are also beneficial for recruiting prospective

students.

“These tours are definitely assets in recruiting students,” she said. “Coming to campus definitely helps them understand what goes on here at Eastern.”

-Joseph Ryan, news editor, contributed to this article.