Debora Cheney
Larry and Ellen Foster Communications
Librarian and head,
News and Microforms Library

Years Ago... The Historical Digital Collegian Database

Years Ago… The Historical Digital Collegian Database, now covering 100 years (1887-1987) allows us to re-visit and re-remember Penn State history through the eyes of the student newspaper.

Penn State Libraries: From Old Main to Carnegie to Pattee

Of all places which should be open from morning till night, college libraries are among the most important. Students and professors are ever and anon obliged to have recourse to books other than those which they have in their own libraries.
—The Free Lance (May, 1887: 15)

From the very beginning, the “college library” was a subject of numerous news articles, editorials, and commentary in Penn State’s campus newspaper. As early as the second issue of the new campus newspaper, The Free Lance (May 1887), students began to use their student newspaper to communicate to “those in whose power it lies to make the necessary improvement” that the Library should be open from “morning till night.” Needs remained nearly constant through the years—more library hours, more services and space, and the impact on growing collections.

Library Hears Demands The Libraries almost always compared unfavorably with other universities and colleges due to funding constraints (“Pattee Library: ‘Soul’ of the University,” Daily Collegian, April 22, 1965:3). However, the librarians tried many new services, including piping music into the Undergraduate Library (“Pattee Scores Again: Editorial Opinion,” Daily Collegian March 2, 1967:2); permitting smoking in the reserved book room (“McComb says Smoking Rule is Satisfactory,” Daily Collegian, December 13, 1955:7); and developing collections in response to changing needs and interests (“Library hears Demands: Douglas Association Gives Book List, ” Daily Collegian, May 23, 1968:3).

Like collections, services changed and evolved—photostat services (1941) were replaced by network printing (1998) and LIAS (Library Information Access Services) replaced the card catalog in 1983 (“Pattee to get more terminals,” Daily Collegian, September 16, 1983: 3).

The tension between preserving materials for future use (indeed, it is possible to check lists of titles added to the collections published in The Free Lance and find some of those books are still part of our library collections today) while also providing collections and services to a growing student body is perennial. The student’s earliest appeal to open the Library more hours was granted:

The trustees have arranged that the Library shall be open all day. This is something
which this paper has been advocating ever since it came into existence. We hereby
extend our thanks to the trustees.” The Free Lance (Feb. 1, 1888: p. 5)

However, by 1892, students requested more changes. They wanted collections of books that could be checked out and taken home (to “read in peace”), browsing collections (“to look at ease over the volumes”), and more open hours in the evenings (we are confined “to certain hours of the day”). By 1899, students were beginning to view the Library’s collections as a possible source for novels and other “leisure” reading materials:

“The students lack good reading matter. This is a plain but pertinent statement and no one can know how great is this scarcity of reading matter for his lighter hours until he seeks some good novel.” —The Free Lance (Jan 1, 1899: p. 257)

Today leisure-reading materials are available in the Libraries’ Leisure Reading Collection Area (see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/lls/leisure_reading.html)

Penn State’s Libraries have changed a great deal over time—Pattee Library is open 24 hours most days during the semester (see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/reserves/extendedhours.html). Collections are now open and accessible for browsing (“New Open Stack System Provides Students with More Efficient Library,” October 7, 1964: 4). Gradually, new policies have allowed longer lending periods (from days, to weeks, to a month at a time).

Slowly new and bigger library buildings were built—from Carnegie Library to Pattee Library with its multiple renovations. The dedications of these buildings are documented in the pages of The Daily Collegian.

Here is a timeline of the College Library—as seen through the page of our campus newspaper:

1858: “The Library is actually older than the College itself. It had 195 volumes in 1858, and a year later, when the College opened, the number had jumped to 1500.” (Daily Collegian, Sept. 10 1952: p. 7)
Carnegie Library, Dedication, 1904—“General Beaver, I hand you this key. Take it sir, from one who loves Pennsylvania, who loves the State College of Pennsylvnia, who loves the people of the United States who would serve them all well.” (Andrew J. Carnegie, The State Collegian, December 1, 1904 (Supplement): 8.)

Nov. 28, 1907: “The Library has outgrown its accommodations, but we confidently expect that provision or its present accommodation and future growth will be made by the generous friend who provided the means for the present building.”
Nov. 4, 1909 : “upwards of 38,000 volumes and has an annual growth of about 2,500 bound volumes and 3,000 pamphlets.”
The Library is also a depository for the boundset of the United States Public Documents. All current Congressional and Department publications are received, indexts to all being kept up to date.
A liberal supply of daily and Sunday newspapers are always on file,…the current comment of such weeklies as The Outlook, Nation, Literary Digest, Independent, and London Times.
Jan. 29, 1920: “Magazine Clipping Again” reported student theft and magazine clipping is a violation of Section 325 of the Penal Code of Pennsylvania. Books are also being taken from the Library without students “signing for them.” Without a doubt, the fault in both cases lies with only a few students. …it is up to every student to keep his eyes open and to stop any magazine clipping or book purloining which may be done in his view. Will you do it?” In 1975, the Library installed a “check point” at its entrance to curb book theft—a problem regularly reported in Collegian issues. (“Pattee installs ‘Checkpoint’ to Curb Book Theft,” Sept. 26, 1975:9)
Sept. 14, 1923: “Reserve Book Room is an Addition to Library—A new room has been opened in the basement for reserve books for courses in History, English, Education, Psychology and Economics…. In the Librarian’s office are cases of rare books.”

October 5, 1926: The Library contained 91,937 volumes; 54,837 books were loaned to 3,387 students. 11,625 volumes were used in the study rooms. “These figures exclude the hundereds of persons who made use of the reading room and study desks.”

April 10, 1931: “Changes to Widen Scope of Library, Lewis Announces”—The library loaned, 43,675 books; budget: $27,501. (less than nine-tenths of one percent of the amount allotted for College expenses.)” Average $7 for each student (average of $19 at the University of California). Willard P. Lewis, new College librarian creates a “borrowing” room, with open stacks, begins to consolidate department libraries into a single library.

Feb. 22, 1935: “Library Restricts use of Bound N.Y. ‘Times …because of severe strain placed on the bindings due to continued use.” Requests for use of the Times should be made at the general circulation desk…”

April 16, 1934: “In the …Library there are reading-room accommodations at the present time for approximately six hundred readers…including the facilities at the central library and branches. Considering…our study body of approximately 4500 and resident faculty of approximately 700 there should be at least 1000 seats in the central library alone instead of 350.”

October 11, 1938: Cornerstone for new library building [Pattee Library] put into place with a “little black box” containing, “various library publications, including issues of the Headlines and theLibrary Book Bulletin, the first of this handbook was published in 1909, shortly after the Carnegie Library was opened.

April 19, 1940—“New Circulation Records Used in Central Library—McBee Keysort Slotted Cards substitute for Library Call Slips; Book Cards No Longer Used.” (For more about McBee Keysort Cards see: http://valinor.ca/computing/img0.htm) and May 3, 1940: “…the staff began to replace the present dictionary [card] catalog with a divided catalog system ….to simplify filing, produce a compact catalog… and bring related subjects more closely together, and relieve congestion in the filing area…”

Pattee Library dedicated March 15, 1941—Book stack capacity is 250,000 (“Equipment Lack Hampers Library” Daily Collegian, September 17, 1940:1).

September 10, 1952: “Pattee Library Has 335,185 volumes… 3,200 periodicals, New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer files, audio-visual aids and Photostat departments.” Reference rooms in Osmond Laboratory, Mineral Industries Building, and Home Economics Buildings.

March 9, 1963: “Researchers to Study Card Catalog”—Improvement in this department may depend upon new advances in computers and thus may not occur for a time…” (p. 3).

1968: “No stuffy atmosphere—To change the traditional ‘hidebound’ atmosphere of the library, Jackson [University Librarian] has introduced soft chairs, carpets and music to the West Wing and has greatly increased the number of smoking areas. Several attempts have been made to establish drive-up book drops in various areas of campus, to make book return easier.” (“Library Works for Solution of Problems: Increases Collection, Adds Services,” Daily Collegian, March 9, 1968: 3)

September 21. 1969: “Centralized Library Under Construction—When completed in about 1975, the total facility will cover an area the size of two and a half football fields.”

September 3, 1975: “Pattee: More than Books—A student burdened by term papers could live in Pattee without ever having to see the light of day, a lounge below ground level offers snacks, and if it weren’t for the alarm that tells you the library will close in 30 minutes, it would be easy to spend the night curled up in the stacks.”

February 2, 1981: “Stolen Snakes Dumped at Pollock Library” Three black rat snakes in a pillowcase wer also returned Friday morning.”

January 21, 1983: “Computer Age Hits University Library System—Imagine walking into Pattee and finding no card catalog.” By November 1983, the Library had 24 terminals in operation. (“LIAS orientation sessions now being offered at Pattee Library,” The Daily Collegian, Nov. 16, 1983: 2)

Over the years, the campus newspaper has served as an outlet for students to request changes in the library and for the Library to report back to the student body on improvements and changes to the Library collections, facilities and services.

“A great Library is almost the soul of great institutions”—George Washington Atherton, President of the Pennsylvania State College, 1893, referring to a great library of the future. (“Pattee Library: ‘Soul’ of the University”, April 22, 1965: 3)

Seen in the Classified Section:

(Daily Collegian, October 14, 1974: 10)