Library Building

Library Building. . Built in 1937, the Library Building was proposed by President W. Joseph McConnell to allow for an expansion of the library materials that had been housed in what is now Curry Hall. He saw the expansion as a way to better educate students, and it was one of the steps necessary to offer doctoral degrees. At its opening, the library held more than 70,000 volumes. The building, constructed at Avenue B and Sycamore, was one of several campus projects that benefited from federal Public Works Administration funds. In addition to greatly expanded stack space, it housed a bookbindery, a broadcasting studio, two large reading rooms, a small auditiorium, and art department classrooms and offices. In 1942, the federal government designated the library as a War Information Center to receive and display information for the public. In 1950, two wings to provide more stack space were added, and two years later, the library ranked second in holdings among libraries of the state-supported colleges in Texas. Librarians vividly remember the building's 1962 renovation, in which the stacks were closed and only the public areas of the library were air conditioned. The Library Building became the Information Sciences Building in 1971 as library holdings were split between this structure and what would become known as Willis Library. In 2011, after some of the collections were moved and departments were changed, the ISB became Sycamore Hall. The library it houses was named Eagle Commons Library after extensive renovations created more group study space and access to the latest technology.