Library History
A Brief History of the Carl M. Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library
From the early days of the University until 1960 the Library was housed in the Administration Building. As the library's resources expanded a crisis developed in the mid 1950's. Eighty thousand books occupied a space meant for 50,000, with an additional 25,000 books stored in two rarely accessible attics. In addition, seating was inadequate and only the Library Staff had access to the closed stacks.
June 1959 marked the beginning of a new era for the University Library. Demolition began on the old auditorium, which occupied the area between St. John's Church and the present Hitchcock Building, future site of the Alumni Memorial Library. The move to the new Alumni Library, constructed entirely from contributions of alumni, was begun on June 3, 1961 with the official dedication on October 24, 1961. The structure was of simple yet classic design and soon became the focal point of the hilltop campus. The reinforced concrete and marble building had space for 250,000 volumes and seating for 500 students. Constructed at a cost of $1,400,000.00, the library added 54,000 gross square feet of building to the growing campus.
Twenty-two years later, in June 1981, demolition began again for the Library.
In preparation for the new addition to the Alumni Library, a portion of the 1961
building was removed. The new addition was planned in three phases. Phase I,
completed in October 1982, placed an addition on the Main Floor and Upper Level.
Phase II added to the Lower Level and includes Instructional Technology, a classroom, t.v. studio and seminar rooms. The new building totals 106,800 gross square feet--90,700 devoted to the Library and 7,500 to the Theisen Instructional Technology Center. The remainder is support space.
With the completion of Phase III interior remodeling, the $6,500,000 project provided space for 400,000 volumes, an unlimited micro-media capacity, computer facilities and seating for 900.