College and Research Libraries


By T H O M A S M. HAMS 

Colgate University's N e w Library: 

A Dynamic Program 

IN ORDER T O UNDERSTAND the philosophy of the new Colgate Library, one must 
first know something about the educa-
tional objectives of the University. Col-
gate seeks to give its students a mastery 
of the skills of thinking constructively 
and independently, of expressing their 
ideas clearly, and of reading critically 
and appreciatively. It endeavors to give 
its students an intelligent understanding 
of the major fields of human knowledge, 
special and intensive training in one of 
those fields, and to implant in students 
the conviction that a liberal education 
is a continuing process which is never 
completed, but which must be carried 
on throughout life if one is to be a re-
sponsible member of society. 

T h i s very brief statement does not, of 
course, give all of the objectives, but 
one can see at once that, at Colgate, the 
library is of central importance. It must 
have a dynamic program. It must be a 
laboratory—a place in which students, 
instructors, and books come together 
under pleasant and informal surround-
ings and under conditions conducive to 
productive scholarship and intimate fac-
ulty-student-librarian relationships. 

How can the new library develop such 
a philosophy and, in fact, become an 
integral part of the teaching program? 
Here is just one brief example of how we 
plan to cooperate with the faculty in 
broadening the student's educational ex-
perience at Colgate. 

Mr. Hams is Librarian, Colgate Uni-
versity. 

For several years some of us have 
lamented the fact that science courses 
tend to emphasize the differences among 
the sciences rather than their similarities. 
When one tries to approach the sciences 
on a broader basis, it is very difficult to 
locate the proper material. This is par-
ticularly true in colleges maintaining 
separate departmental libraries. Al-
though the new central library has 
brought all of the departmental libraries 
under one roof (with the exception of 
small science laboratory collections), 
this is not the entire solution to the 
problem. A reading room next to stacks 
shelving the science books now enables 
us to experiment in new methods of 
teaching the history of science—a pro-
gram to show the interrelation of all 
sciences. In this room will be brought 
together a collection of books and 
periodicals that will not only show the 
interrelation among the various sciences, 
but also the effect of other disciplines on 
the sciences and vice versa. Here the 
humanists, the scientists, and librarians 
will attempt to bridge gaps that never 
should have existed in the first place. 
This experiment is so challenging that 
foundation support has already been 
obtained. 

We present only one example of the 
dynamic approach to the use of the new 
library. Expansion of such teaching tech-
niques will be limited only by the un-
finished second floor and lack of initi-
ative and imagination on the part of the 
faculty and library staff. 

T h e design, furnishings, service, and 

212 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH L I B R A R I E S -



Colgate University Library 

special facilities of the new library are 
all planned to encourage and broaden 
the desirable features in our educational 
program. We hope it will be literally the 
"cultural center" of the University. Col-
gate is constantly reviewing the effective-
ness of faculty teaching and is attempting 
to stimulate the intellectual motivation 
and curiosity of its students. T h e im-
portance of adequate library service in 
implementing Colgate's various educa-
tional programs is, we believe, self evi-
dent. 

Because education should be a con-
tinuing process, reading conditions in 
the new library approximate those our 
students will experience in their own 
homes after graduation. College, for 
some students, offers the last chance to 
acquire the habit of reading. 

And what do the students think of the 
new library? The Colgate Maroon, the 
campus newspaper, has been lavish in 
praising the new facilities. Opened in 
time for the fall semester, 1958, ". . . re-
turning students," according to one 

campus reporter, "first viewed [the li-
brary] as a crisp new building, as func-
tional as it is beautiful, a masterpiece of 
planning. B u t already [October], after 
only a few weeks of classes, they are be-
ginning to see it in a much broader per-
spective. Designed to be the focal point 
of the entire educational experience of 
Colgate, the new Library seems destined 
to become the heart of the University 
and the core of the Core Curriculum." 
And, in an editorial: "Certainly we, the 
students, cannot help but know the value 
of the magnificent new library. Its facil-
ities represent a great increase in study 
and research opportunities. . . . From the 
moment a person walks into the new 
structure it is obvious to him that it was 
designed to fill the students' educational 
needs as completely as possible." 

In addition to the colorful decor and 
lounge-type furniture, the varied general 
seating facilities, adequate lighting, etc., 
students mention particularly the beauti-
fully furnished and equipped music room, 
browsing room, large periodicals alcove, 

MAY 1959 213 



typing and microfilm rooms, rapid photo-
reproduction service, open reference area, 
science reading room, "coke and smoke" 
room, loan service for reproductions of 
famous paintings, conference rooms, and 
the fact that they can now find books in 
an open stack library. 

I f just a few of the building's out-
standing features were singled out, note 
would be made of the flexibility of the 
modular construction of the building, 
the convenience of having all principal 
public and staff functions located on the 
main floor, and the fact that the building 
is designed for one-point control. This 
means that all readers have to use one 
entrance and exit except, of course, in 
emergencies. In other words, one cannot 
by-pass the charging machine! Mention 
should be made also of the staff-saving 
possibilities of locating the reserve desk 
in back of the circulation desk with 
joint stacks and work room between and 
the advantages of a paging system that 
enables us to clear out the building at 
night and to locate students in emer-
gencies. T h e simplicity and openness of 
the entire building probably give it a 
distinction all its own. 

But the most important thing is that 
the students like the library and its many 
new services. This is made evident by a 
50 per cent increase in use (number of 
students in the building) and a sub-
stantial gain in the circulation of two-
week books. 

A combination lecture and exhibition 
room and a faculty lounge, which may 
be opened to increase the seating capac-
ity of the lecture room from 140 to 165, 
was finished in April. 

T h e second, or top, floor at present is 
unfinished. Here will be located the air-
conditioned rare book and archives 
stacks with a joint reading room, six 
conference-seminar-honors rooms, glass 
enclosed and open reading areas, more 
carrells and faculty studies, general 
stacks, etc. 

T h e dedication of the new Colgate 
University Library took place on April 
13, 1959. 

B U I L D I N G D A T A 1 

Architects: R . B. O'Connor & W. H. Kil-
ham, Jr., New York. 

Cost: $2,200,000 (equipped and fur-
nished). 

Book capacity: 400,000 volumes. 

Seating capacity: 600. 

Number of stories: Four (including one-
half of basement). 

Overall dimensions: 187' x 125'. 

Module size: 22' 8" x 24' 4". 

Square footage: 80,155 sq. ft. 

Cubage: 902,798 cu. ft. 

Structural frame: Reinforced concrete. 

Exterior walls: Brick cavity walls up to 
first floor; stone with aluminum and 
steel curtain walls above; light-direct-
ing glass block in clerestory. 

Floors: Vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and cork 
tile; terrazzo in lobby. 

Stacks: Metal; supplier, Remington Rand. 

Furniture: Much of it especially designed 
and made for Colgate; various suppli-
ers. 

Illumination: Fluorescent in reading and 
public areas; Holophane incandescent 
in stack areas. 

Ventilation: Mechanically ventilated, 
tempered, and humidified. (Refrigera-
tion can be added for complete air con-
ditioning.) 

Heating: Forced hot water. 

1 T h e second floor will not be completed at this time. 
However, all data are based upon the building as orig-
inally designed. 

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