The library system of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

(Tufts Libraries) covers all academic departments comprising the university. The main library is Tisch Library, which holds about 2.5 million volumes, with other holdings dispersed at subject libraries.

History

Tufts' library was established in 1850 with a gift of seven volumes, three years before classes began. The collection moved from building to building on the academic quad until in 1908, Tufts' first library building, Eaton Memorial Library (now Eaton Hall), was made possible with a donation from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. Carnegie's wife requested that the building be named after a Tufts graduate, Reverend Charles Eaton, who had presided over her wedding. The building received an extension in 1950 with the construction of the War Memorial Library in honor of the Tufts alumni who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. By 1965 the collection outgrew the building and was moved to a new main library named Wessell Library. Additionally the demand for more square footage prompted the expansion of Wessell. In 1995, with the addition of , the main library was renamed Tisch Library.

Smaller libraries

In addition to the main library, there are a few smaller libraries that serve specialized fields: *Edward Ginn Library – provides collections and services for the

Fletcher School The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

. It is one of the largest specialized libraries in the field of international affairs. The collection holds over 120,000 volumes. *Hirsh Health Sciences Library – provides resources for the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

, School of Dental Medicine,

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (also called the ''Friedman School'') at Tufts University brings together biomedical, nutritional, clinical, social, and behavioral scientists to conduct research, ed ...

, the

Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is one of the eight schools that comprise Tufts University. The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) is located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Mas ...

and the HNRCA. The library has been operating since the 1960s, and was rededicated in 2005 as the Hirsh Health Sciences Library. *Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine – located on the Grafton campus, supports the clinical programs of both the Large Animal Hospital and the Foster Hospital for Small Animals, as well as the informational needs of the students in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Master’s and PhD programs.

List of Tufts Libraries

Tufts Archival Research CenterEdward Ginn LibraryHirsh Health Sciences LibraryLilly Music Library
* Tisch Library
W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. LibraryWebster Family Library

References

{{Authority control Tufts University