|
| 1890-1910 |
The Library's growing collections, which reached 200,000 volumes by 1905,
combined with the University's increased number of students and expanded
curriculum contributed to a lack of adequate space. The Library made internal
changes, such as rearranging the seating, to accommodate more students.[11] |
1920: New Library
building completed |
| 1905 |
Theodore
Koch, Librarian from 1905-1915, established an over 6,000 volume collection
of reference works. Koch also prioritized students' knowledge of the library
and its resources and, along with creating library orientation and education
sessions, he reinstated student borrowing privileges. [10] |
| 1911 |
Joseph Labadie, a
Detroit anarchist, donated his personal library to the University of Michigan.
This library, which consisted primarily of anarchist materials, was the
beginnings of the Labadie Collection. This collection is still growing today and is part of
the Special Collections Library. [10; 13]
|
| 1915 |
Due to
its wood construction, the General Library building was declared a fire
hazard by the Board of Regents. The State Legislature appropriated funds
for the construction of a new Library building to be designed by the esteemed
architect Albert Kahn. [18; 10]
|
| 1920 |
The new Library building (now
North Hatcher) was dedicated on January 7. The final cost for construction
was $645,000, about 25 cents per cubic foot. The low cost was in part due
to architect Albert Kahn's adaptation of architectural techniques used primarily
in factory construction. The building was 177 feet long, 200 feet wide,
four stories high and had an estimated capacity of 1,000 readers and 1,000,000
volumes. R.R. Bowker, editor of Library Journal, gave the principal address
at the dedication. An excerpt from his speech: |
| |
"We
think of research as rather a matter high in the air, but there is, after
all, nothing more practical; and today the organization of the American
library system is thoroughly adapted to this idea of research."[7] |
| |
The University's Papyrus Collection was started in 1920 when Professor Francis Kelsey returned
from Egypt with 617 papyri. The University continued to fund expeditions,
sometimes collaboratively with institutions such as the British Museum.
The Library's collection of papyri was soon the largest in the Americas
and it continues to grow today. [10]
|
| 1923-1924 |
William
Warner Bishop, who joined the University of Michigan as a librarian in 1915,
undertook a project to reclassify a majority of the Library's collection
from the Dewey Decimal System to the Library of Congress Classification
System. [10] In the Graduate Library
today, only the Literature collection remains in the Dewey Decimal System. |
| 1940 |
At
this point, the card catalog had 2,000 trays and 1.75 million cards.
[12] |
| Post
1945 |
The
space problem in the Library worsened when enrollment sharply increased
as a result of soldiers returning from the war and enrolling in college.
[10] |
| 1947 |
Position
of Chief Bibliographer was created and Rolland C. Stewart was the first
appointee.[14] Librarians assumed all
collection development responsibilities. Previously, each academic department
had a budget for the selection and purchase of books and journals. [10] |
