Loyola’s First Online Catalog and Library Databases
University Librarian Ellen Waite worked with the library staff to bring up LUIS, the library online catalog, by 1987. This was quickly followed by the acquisition of databases (indexes, INDY) in the social sciences, sciences and humanities so that print indexes to find articles and other resources were gradually replaced. The libraries celebrated their acquisition of one million volumes to the collection in 1990. It was expected that within the next 15 years the library collection would be doubled. But the situation regarding print materials was changing. With the advent of databases and the Web with possibilities for digital collections and expanded interlibrary loan, librarians were beginning to emphasize access rather than ownership. Library funds traditionally spent on print books and journals were now also being spent for databases, e-books and e-journals.
First E-mail Accounts
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In 1990, the library staff members were given e-mail accounts and instructions on how to use listserves. By this time most of the librarians had computers and, therefore, when Mosaic came up as the first widely used browser, the librarians joined IT in instructing faculty and students on how to use the Net. Netscape replaced Mosaic and this was quickly followed by Internet Explorer. Continual updates for computers and new computers to replace old ones became an expected and welcome service from IT (Information Technology), later named ITS, Information Technology Services.
Father Raymond Baumhart, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago 1970-1993, entered an agreement with
President Baumhart negotiated with
A new building located at 25 East Pearson was added to
At this
Fr. Garanzini Becomes President
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When Fr. John Piderit, S.J., Loyola’s president from 2004-2001, left Loyola, a search committee identified and recommended Fr. Michael Garanzini, S.J., who became the next Loyola president in 2001. The library administration offices were moved from the 25 East Pearson building 7th floor to Cudahy Library and the offices vacated on 7th floor were taken over by university administration.
In 2001, the 9/11 tragedy occurred when terrorists flew two passenger transport planes into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon in Washington DC, and one, intended for the U.S. Capitol or White House, crashed in Pennsylvania. Loyola University Chicago, along with the rest of the country, mourned the loss of life of those innocent civilians and security became a major concern. While the libraries had been giving ready access to the community living near Loyola, they now imposed stringent restrictions on anyone wanting to enter the libraries except Loyola faculty, students and staff with Loyola IDs.
As mentioned above during the late 1990s the financial situation at Loyola greatly deteriorated. Budgets were flat in 2001 and Acting Dean of Libraries Karla Petersen said she would not make any changes that year. She was appointed the Dean of Libraries toward the end of 2001. It turned out that money for the library was scarce for several more years.
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Library Positions Lost
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According to Assistant Dean for Public Services Stephen Macksey the September 12th issue of The Phoenix contained an interview with Karla Petersen. Karla was quoted accurately in much of the article, he stated, but the information on staff reductions was incorrect. The article correctly stated that the government documents assistant position was eliminated, and that the University Archivist and Science Library circulation librarian positions were reduced to part-time.
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Science Library Becomes the
Early in 2004 President Garanzini said that he wanted to make the Science Library space in the
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Karla Petersen announced in early 2005 that she planned to retire in the fall of 2005. A search committee was formed and three candidates were brought in for interviews. Subsequently, Robert Seal was chosen and he became the Dean of Libraries with his office in Cudahy Library, October 2005.
Plans for an Information Commons (IC) to be built south of Cudahy Library, initiated by President Garanzini, began even before Robert Seal came to Loyola. But Dean of Libraries Robert Seal became the driving force to bring this vision to a reality. The IC was erected in the space known as the Jesuit lawn on the shores of
Because of Dean Seal’s experience with an information commons at Texas Christian University, he headed the IC Team from October 2005 to make the IC a reality at Loyola by late fall 2007. In August 2007 Leslie Haas was appointed Director of the Information Commons and became part of the IC Team. The dedication of the IC was held on
Jeannette Pierce had become the Head of Reference at Cudahy Library in December, 2006. Because the reference offices space was planned as part of the connecting passage through Cudahy Library that would lead to the Information Commons, the reference offices were relocated to the south section of the library closer to the IC. This section had been the D’Arcy Gallery or
Dedication of the Information Commons
We conclude this history of Loyola’s libraries with the dedication of the IC, a four-story academic building, on December 7th. The IC is a joint project of the library and information technology. It is all glass on the east side facing
As Dean of Libraries Robert Seal stated in his speech at the dedication: “The Klarcheck Information Commons represents, symbolically and literally, a dramatic change occurring in higher education toward more interactive, collaborative learning in which libraries and technology play an increasingly important, indeed vital role. The now familiar phrase, the library is the heart of the university, is never more true than it is here in 2007.” The IC won the Silver Level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification as the building is designed and constructed according to green standards. It serves as a model for future green buildings nationwide.
Visitors Welcomed
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The restricted entrance to the libraries that had been imposed since 9/11/01 was now lifted so that anyone with a picture ID was permitted to enter the libraries during the day hours. Because the magnificent Information Commons is unique as one of the first energy-saving, environmentally friendly buildings in the country, and librarians collaborating with information technologists working together side by side, many visitors wanted to come to Loyola to see it.
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This guide is a draft of the History of Loyola Libraries begun by Sister Rita Stalzer, CSJ, It will be filled in with more facts and events as other librarians have time to contribute to the project.
Origins
The history of Cudahy Library and Lewis Library at Loyola University Chicago begins in 1870 when
Early “Librarians”
From the annual catalogues of the College we learn that the first person appointed as librarian was Rev. J. G. Venneman, S.J., from 1870-1872. He was also a professor of English and German. Thereafter, various professors were appointed librarian, usually for a year or two although sometimes they were appointed for three to four years. By 1876, the librarian, Mr. P. J. Van Loco, wrote an article for the college catalogue stating that, through gifts of friends and benefactors, the library contained 10,000 volumes. The volumes comprised many rare and valuable works. He wrote: “There are 80 volumes printed between1500-1600 and 294 volumes between 1600-1700.” Mr. Van Loco, became Rev. P. J. Van Loco, S.J., by 1877 and remained librarian and French teacher until 1880, after which the practice of assigning a different professor as librarian every year or two continued.
First Library Handbook
From the first handbook of the Elizabeth M Cudahy Memorial Library by Helen Virginia Tompkins, 1937, we learn more about the early history of the collection. She writes, “
Move to
According to the description given by Helen Tompkins, the books bundled off to the north side campus numbered an estimated 70,000 volumes, but must have included U S depository items. The library had become a U S depository library in 1896. The library accession books showed only 35, 567 volumes.
Librarian from 1918-1946
Rev. William Kane, S.J., became the librarian in 1918. When Cudahy Library was erected in 1930, Fr. Kane was given the title of Director of the Library and remained in that position until his death in 1946. By the end of the 1920s, it was evident that a separate library building was desirable for the growing library collection. In the early years of the library gifts accounted for the larger part of the library’s growth.
The budget for the library in 1929 indicated the following salaries: the librarian received $3,300; reference librarian, $2,000; cataloger $2,000; loan assistant $1,400; student help $1,800; Library of Congress cards, $500.
Classification Systems
As early as 1929, the Loyola librarians considered adopting the Library of Congress classification system and converting the Dewey decimal books to LC call numbers. The idea was at first embraced by Rev. R. M. Kelley, Loyola President, and the work had already begun in 1930. By July 1935, Fr. Kelley wrote a letter to Librarian Fr. Kane that because of the extra expense and trouble, the Library Board had decided against LC and favored the Dewey decimal classification. The actual change to LC classification came much later in 1968 when James Cox was the Director of Libraries.
The Cudahys
Edward Cudahy was the greatest benefactor. He began his gifts in 1929 with the construction of the building which was completed in 1930. Edward Cudahy wanted the library to be known as the Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library in honor of his wife. She was present for the dedication. The library was fully equipped and endowed for perpetual maintenance. The cost of the construction of the library was $300,000.
Open Stacks/ Closed Stacks
When the library collection was moved from the administration building into the new facility in 1930, there was no catalogue. It seems the original catalogue created by Fr. Garvey had not been kept up. Therefore, “open shelves” was the practice. This practice apparently led to the loss of an estimated one-third of the collection between 1930 and 1937. In June 1937, an inventory gave the count of 64,236 volumes. Realizing that the open stacks practice was being abused, the librarians introduced the policy of “closed stacks.” Faculty and some graduate students (with permission of the librarian) were allowed into the stacks area but the other students needed to have the books brought to them. Undergraduate students were allowed to borrow three books, graduate students five; there was no limit placed on faculty loans. Fines for reserve books were $.25 a day. “No hats, overcoats, brief cases or bottles of ink” were permitted in the reading room.
Design of
The Cudahy Memorial Library (1930) was designed by Andrew N. Rebori of the architectural firm of Rebori, Wentworth, Dewey and McCormick. In contrast to the classical style of other buildings on the
A highlight of the Cudahy Library is the main reading room. A concrete monolithic arched ceiling, stained glass windows throughout by Giannini and Hilgart, and a mural by artist, John Warner Norton (1876-1934). This noted
The original ornate exterior features a frieze of Latin names of subject of study. Located over the doors of the main entrance (south side of the building) is a bronze sunburst symbolizing that books are the morning light to those seeking knowledge. To the left of the doors is a tower with a sun dial inscribed with A.M.D.G., the Jesuit motto, “For the greater glory of God.” The original layout of the library consisted of one level with five floors of stack decks.
Size of the Collection
During the initial planning of the library Frederic Siedenburg, S.J., Dean of the
Librarians as Teachers
The librarian, William T. Kane, S.J. and the assistant librarian, Eva Perry, taught a summer school course in Library Methods during the 1930’s. The course was “intended for sisters and teachers who are acting as school librarians or getting ready for such work.”
Plan to Centralize the Collections
In December of 1931, Fr. Kane held a meeting of the library staffs of the Lake Shore, Downtown, Dental, Law and Medical Libraries, and told them that President Fr. Kelley wanted all the departmental libraries to be drawn into one single university library. He said that untrained staff would be given help and guidance in their work in the central library which would be at the
The Library Council
In the early 1930’s there was already a Library Council consisting of the Faculty Director, representing the president of the University, as Chairman and five members of the faculty appointed by the president. This Council “will consider the plans and policies recommended by the faculty Director and the Librarian and will advise them in the administration of the library. All books shall be purchased and subscriptions to magazines and periodicals determined under the approval of the Council.”
The Depression
In a report of July 1931 to Dec. 1932, it was recorded that there were many unpaid fines due to the depression. Also, the budget approved for 1932-1933 was $18,246.15 as contrasted with $20,030.00 for the previous year.
Importance of a Jesuit Librarian
In a policy document dated 1931, it was stated that “the librarian shall be a Jesuit priest appointed by the Rector of the Jesuit Community.” The other staff members will be called library assistants. “Calling them librarians leads to swelled heads and insubordination.” Miss Ryan, who had been Assistant Librarian and had begun to classify new books in the LC classification, was dismissed in 1932 and Miss Eva Perry became Assistant Librarian. When Fr. Kane became ill and died in 1946, Fr. Homer Mattlin, S.J., was appointed the director of the library in 1947. Fr. Mattlin also taught a bibliographic research class for the Department of English.
The Jesuit Library Association
Fr. Mattlin was among the first eleven Jesuit librarians who met in
As early as 1954, the Jesuit Library Association recommended to all Jesuit college and university administrators that faculty status and rank (without the customary faculty titles) be given to all professional personnel in their libraries. This recommendation was carried out for the Loyola librarians by 1955.
The Union Catalog
During the course of the years, the collections of the Medical Library, Law Library and the Downtown (
When the Jesuits’
James Cox Director of Libraries 1960-1971
A Committee on the Library Self-Study was formed in November, 1962, with the stated purpose to determine whether or not the library was showing healthy growth. Mr. Cox stated that there were only seven professional librarians. The Committee felt this was an inadequate number, especially in circulation and reference. Regarding the book collection, it was suggested that Mr. Cox send out a questionnaire to all faculty members asking if the growth of the collection in their subject areas was more than adequate, adequate, or inadequate. With an increased budget and more books coming into the library, Mr. Cox asked in 1964 for the construction of a new addition to the library. Fr. James Maguire, President responded in a memo dated March 23, 1964, that he felt such construction should be deferred until attempts to get federal assistance had been made.
New Addition to
A request for bids on the Cudahy Library addition began in
The addition to the library was actually begun in 1967 designed by the firm of Barry and Kay. This addition added 86,000 square feet to the original 34,000 square feet of the 1930s building, including three more stories. New features included the installation of open stacks, a rare book room and air conditioning. The addition of an open stacks area beside the original closed stacks made it easier for students to access the library collection. The Martin D’Arcy Gallery of Art was also established in 1969 and located in the original building in the south wing. The new addition to the Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library was dedicated
Requests for Faculty Privileges
In a letter to Mr. Cox from Dr. Kokora,
The change from classifying new library books in Library of Congress class rather than Dewey Decimal began in 1968. The conversion of the existing books from Dewy to LC was also begun with an estimate of ten years to complete the job. However, the plan was abandoned after five years when the vast number of new books received made it difficult to continue the conversion of older books. The decision was made to operate the library with the two systems of classification.
Student Protests
During the late 60’s and early 70’s the students at colleges and universities throughout the country were staging protests regarding the war in
Director of Libraries James Cox Resigns
In 1971 there was a library self-study that revealed inadequate services and collections. Some discontent from Loyola faculty members regarding the library administration and services became evident. Also, the University had become more research oriented. They recommended that a search committee be appointed to look for a PhD candidate for the position of Director of Libraries.
Accordingly, Dr. Matre, then Senior Vice President and Dean of Faculties, sent a letter to Mr. Cox alerting him to the fact that a search committee had been formed to bring in candidates with the PhD degree for the position of Director of Libraries. Mr. Cox would be given a year’s sabbatical to take graduate library science courses at the
Robert Ennen, PhD, becomes Director of Libraries
The result of the search was the hiring of Dr. Robert Ennen as Director of Libraries. He came to Loyola in January 1972 and remained until his untimely death in March 1983.
Computer Age Begins at
Cataloging began to use symbols to prepare for machine readable records in 1972 and by January 1975 OCLC terminals were installed in Cudahy Library. Loyola cataloging records were now available to libraries throughout the nation, plus Loyola had access to the thousands, later millions of records input by academic libraries into the OCLC online system. The librarians were now using computers in their daily work.
Subject Specialist System
During his administration, Dr. Ennen set up a subject specialist system which required librarians to get a second master degree in a subject area. These subject specialists were not only the contact people with the academic departments, but also bibliographers, reference librarians, instructors and catalogers in their areas of expertise. There was no separate reference department, but a paraprofessional sat at an information/reference desk and fielded questions to appropriate subject specialists as the occasions arose. The subject bibliographers plus the head of technical services and the head of public services met with Dr. Ennen monthly to discuss services and collections and to set policies.
One policy was that students from post-secondary institutions could apply for reference privileges for a fee of $10 per week or $60 per semester. Faculty of these institutions were eligible for free access and reference privileges but for borrowing privileges they could apply for a fee of $100 per semester. (January 20, 1975 memo from Roy Fry to Dr. Ennen.)
Library Security Issues
In 1974 it became apparent that books and periodicals had been disappearing from the collection. Therefore, a policy was immediately implemented to put in place security measures. This involved students and faculty entering the library to show their IDs and to allow a guard at the entrance to examine their bags as they left the library.
In a memo dated
Running Out of Space
Dr. Ennen requested an addition to the library as early as 1975 and again in 1981 he suggested the necessity of adding two more floors to Cudahy Library to accommodate the increased number of students, books and periodicals. (Library Board Minutes, Nov. 16, 1981.) However, he was not able to win the approval of the university administration. Also, he tried for an online catalog to replace the card catalog. But again Ennen could not get sufficient funds from the university administration.
When Dr. Ennen died suddenly (massive stroke) in March 1983, (Annual Report of the Library Board 1982-1983), the members of the Board expressed their sadness regarding his sudden death. They also discussed briefly the effect of his death on the recent proposal to have the university library system studied by outside consultants.
Changes in the Library
A few months later an evaluation team of consultants was called in to review the strengths and weaknesses of the library and to make recommendations. Then a search committee was appointed and the result was the hiring of Dr. Mary K. Cronin. Dr. Cronin came to Loyola in 1984 and almost immediately called in a consultant, Ms. Ellen Waite, to conduct a workshop for the library staff in preparation for an online catalog. Since most of Loyola library records were in machine-readable form for OCLC, it was a logical progression to the online catalog of library records of
Dr. Cronin remained at Loyola about two years and during this time established a separate reference department and cataloging department. She continued to work toward an online catalog. When Dr. Cronin left Loyola, Ms. Ellen Waite became the Director of Libraries in 1986. At this time, the title was changed from Director of Libraries to University Librarian and Ms. Waite appointed Mr. Edward Warro as Associate University Librarian for Loyola Libraries, Mr. Thomas McNally as Assistant University Librarian for Public Services, and Ms. Karla Petersen as Assistant University Librarian for Techincal Services.
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Having passed through difficult financial years and changes in the way information and research are undertaken, the libraries have risen to new expectations and potential successes. The IC consists mostly of computers, digital equipment, classrooms, study areas and research centers. The books remain in Cudahy Library and the Library Storage Facility on Lakeshore campus. The books in the Lewis Library at the Water Tower Campus are at present being weeded and low use volumes placed in storage. Two floors have been re-organized to make way for more reading and study space. The Lewis Library and its collection will eventually be moved to a new building on
Loyola libraries remain committed to assist in the scholarship, learning and development of our students in a beautiful environment. The libraries continue to support the mission of our
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