As the re-opening of the President's Reading Room nears, we paid a visit to the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives to dive into the longstanding relationship between the University Libraries and UAlbany's Presidents.
The history dates back to shortly after the founding of the State Normal School at Albany - the University's "ancestor" - in December 1844. Two months after the School began operation, Principal David Page oversaw the opening of the first library in a single room of a former train depot on State Street.
An interactive timeline of UAlbany Presidents is available online through the Archives. In the meantime, here are a few highlights of their interactions with the University Libraries.
Library Director Alice Hastings Murphy and President Evan R. Collins dedicate the University Library in 1968.
Dedication of the University Library
In 1962, when the College became one of the four State University of New York University Centers, Albany's Libraries embarked on two decades of rapid growth. As a result of the change from a liberal arts college to university, faculty, student population and library collections increased rapidly, necessitating an expanded facility to house the University. In 1966, during the construction of the Edward Durell Stone designed uptown campus, the Hawley Library was closed and the collections were moved to the University Library on the academic podium of the Uptown Campus. The University Library was dedicated two years later in November 1968 by President Evan R. Collins and Library Director Alice Hastings Murphy (pictured above).
President H. Patrick Swygert (center)
President Swygert declares libraries "center of virtually all" university goals
H. Patrick Swygert, the 15th President of the University at Albany, delivered remarks to the New York State Governor's Conference on Library and Information Services. The conference took place on November 29, 1990 at the Empire State Plaza, in anticipation of the national White House Conference on Library and Information Services to be held the following year.
In his speech, President Swygert probed the impact of the dawning internet age on libraries and higher education. Libraries, he believed, stood at the epicenter of the shifting landscape.
"Added to this demanding and complex picture is the fact that colleges and especially universities are very complex places, where a wide variety of people pursue a wide variety of goals," Swygert explained. "Yet the academic library exists at the center of virtually all of these goals."
President Hitchcock oversees construction of Science Library
Karen R. Hitchcock, the 16th President of the University at Albany, oversaw the construction of the Science Library, the first new building on the academic podium in 25 years.
While discussions for a new library began as early as 1989, construction on the Science Library began on June 10, 1996. A $3.5 million development campaign funded the project. The official ribbon cutting took place on October 16, 1999, with Governor George Pataki among attendees.
Karen Hitchcock speaks in the President's Reading Room