The campus library originally existed within the Cortland Normal School building and then Old Main following the 1919 fire. Space was a major issue however, and in the 1940’s the campus started looking into a plan to construct a separate library building.
In 1945 the first plans were sketched by Carl Clark who also designed Brockway and Moffett Halls. The building was to be located just northeast of Old Main. However, after land was purchased along Graham and Prospect Terrace, the plans changed, and library was relocated to the water towers where it currently resides.
The original Georgian style that resembles Old Main and Brockway transformed into a more modern look as a firm named Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw, and Folley took on the project. Construction began on the new building in 1959 and was completed in 1961. The library included brick, marble accents, and large glass windows.
However, it was only half of the size it is today. In 1973 construction began to add a new 4-story wing onto the existing library. By 1975 furniture was finally added the new space was operational.
1967
1984
Circa 1945
1967
The proposed 1945 library was intended to be 75 x 142 feet and cost around $225,000. In 1961 when Memorial Library was built (a new design by Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw, and Folley), it exceeded 1.1 million dollars and was over 48,000 square feet. This space included seating for 900 students and shelf space for approximately 150,000 volumes. Around 65,000 books were transferred from Old Main to Memorial Library. However, there was not a budget allocated to purchase current titles for the new library. A student initiative called “Operation Bookstrap” helped solve this issue.
Students opted to pay five-dollars each and pledge support to purchase new books. Operation Bookstrap only lasted one year and raised $30,000. But, in the late 1960’s as the student body grew, space for students and volumes became limited. In the 1970’s the library expanded to include a new fourth-floor wing (the same structure we see today) that opened up space for 350,000 volumes that was expected to be filled by 1990.
1980's