Newsworthy?

I'm more surprised that they just spent $81m on a new library. It is a private university, I suppose, and since it's run like a corporation it shouldn't have any trouble with funds... unlike public libraries, which are closing all over the country. Do they open their membership to the public?

If you have a legitimate research need, then yes

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/using/access/public.html