The Homer D. Babbidge Library (HBL) is the main library on the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

campus in Storrs.

History

In December 1962

President

Homer D. Babbidge Jr. Homer Daniels Babbidge Jr. (May 18, 1925 – March 27, 1984) was an American historian who served as president of the University of Connecticut (1962–1972) and the Hartford Graduate Center (1976–1984). At age 37, he was the youngest state uni ...

went before the

Connecticut Legislature The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Ther ...

to advocate for a stronger research-oriented institution in Storrs. When compared to its peers, UConn spent less on bookbinding,

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

s, collections development, and had an overall smaller inventory of books. UConn spent $30 per student on the

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

at a time when its peers were spending close to $70. Only ten years later, near the end of his term, the university's library passed the one million volume mark, joining only 58 other American Universities (out of 2,200 total) that had a collection of 1 million or more volumes. Prior to Babbidge being built, the Wilbur Cross Library housed the university's books and volumes. That building has now been turned into the Wilbur Cross Building, which houses various administrative offices. Regarding the naming of the university's new library, Bruce M. Stave writes that "Homer Daniels Babbidge, Jr., died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at age 58 in March 1984. Shortly after his death, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, in a memorial tribute, named the university's new library, which stands central to the campus, in his honor." While under construction, the new main library had been named the Nathan Hale Library at the urging of trustees appointed by Gov.

Thomas Meskill Thomas Joseph Meskill Jr. (January 30, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a longtime United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the 82nd governor of Connecticut, as a United St ...

, whose UConn budget cuts earlier prompted Babbidge to retire and run for governor against him.Zaiman, Jack. "The Babbidge Doctrine: A 'Popular' Nominee," The Hartford Courant. (Dec 2, 1973), p. 35.

Notable staff

Richard Bleiler Richard James Bleiler (born 1959) is an American bibliographer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 2002 and for the Munsey Award in 2019. He is th ...

(1959–), collections and humanities librarian since 1994; science fiction bibliographer and

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

nominee. * John P. McDonald (1922–1993), library director from 1963 to 1986; executive director of the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and resea ...

(1974–76). *

Janice Merrill-Oldham Janice Elaine Merrill-Oldham (May 10, 1947 – October 5, 2011) was an American librarian and conservator who was a preeminent figure in the field of library binding and conservation. She served as Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian and d ...

(1947–2011), head of the library's preservation department from 1983 to 1995 and preeminent book conservator. * Norman D. Stevens (1932–2018), university librarian from 1974 to 1986 and library director from 1986 to 1994; collector of librariana. * Edwina Whitney (1868–1970), UConn's first professional librarian, serving from 1900 to 1934.

References

Brutalist architecture in Connecticut University and college academic libraries in the United States University of Connecticut Libraries in Tolland County, Connecticut Federal depository libraries {{library-stub