The Edgar Weld King Undergraduate Library is celebrating its
50th anniversary with an open house from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today.
Students and alumni, faculty and staff, and
members of the community have been invited.
The library is also hosting the book brigade, which was organized to transport 35,000 books approximately
200 yards down the sidewalk, past Clokey Hall and to the new King Library
building. More than 60 volunteers were recruited through an Interfraternity
Council effort. They transported the books on rented transfer carts to the new
library. The library staff supervised the un-shelving, boxing and re-shelving of
the books and periodicals.
The volunteers began moving the books on Saturday, Nov. 19,
1966. The work was completed in time for the library to open on Monday morning.
The transition from the old to the new library also
represented a new way of looking at libraries. Previously students did not have
access to the books and periodicals kept in the "inner sanctum."
Materials had to be requested from library staff, who would bring them out of
the secured storage area. In the new library, the students were encouraged to explore,
relax and enjoy the facilities.
Since the book brigade, the library has made more changes to
make itself more user friendly. The evolution includes adding computers and
computer laboratories in the 1990s and 2000s, and adding the King Café in 2006.
The library also changed its hours to a 24-seven operation where students could cram for exams or relax while watching
television.
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