The Main Library is a historic library on the campus of the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

. Built in 1924, the library was the third built for the school; it replaced

Altgeld Hall Altgeld Hall, located at 1409 West Green Street in Urbana, Illinois on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus, was built in 1896–97 and was designed by Nathan Ricker and James M. White of the University's architecture depa ...

, which had become too small for the university's collections. Architect

Charles A. Platt Charles Adams Platt (October 16, 1861 – September 12, 1933) was a prominent American architect, garden designer, and artist of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture. Early career Pai ...

designed the

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

building, one of several on the campus which he designed in the style. The building houses several area libraries, as well as the University Archives and the

Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is principal repository for special collections of Columbia University. Located in New York City on the university's Morningside Heights campus, its collections span more than 4,000 years, from early Mesopotam ...

. The Main Library is the symbolic face of the

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

, which has the second largest university library collection in the United States. The library was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on August 11, 2000.

History

In 1868, the University of Illinois's first president,

John Milton Gregory John Milton Gregory (July 6, 1822October 19, 1898) was an American educator and the first president (regent was his official title) of the University of Illinois, then known as Illinois Industrial University. Early life John Milton Gregory was ...

, personally acquired 644 volumes to establish the library. By 1880, the library housed 12,500 volumes, and by the turn of the century, the collection had grown to 70,000 volumes. The library moved from its previous space in University Hall to the newly-completely completed Library Hall (later renamed

) in 1897. However, the new building quickly became inadequate for the needs of the quickly-growing student population. In 1912, university president Edmund J. James announced an ambitious plan to expand the collection to one million volumes and to build a new library building. James envisioned a library to rival those at "the great German academic institutions." By 1909, the university was already considering expanding the campus to the area south of the Main Quad. A plan drawn in 1919 by university professor James M. White imagined a new southern quad anchored by a new library on its western edge. During the economic prosperity that Illinois experienced in the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...

, the state legislature committed to funding a major building campaign at the university. In 1923, the University of Illinois hired landscape architect

to revise the master plan and design new construction. Platt's plan for the campus adopted the

architectural style, which was popular at the time. Construction on the Main Library began in 1924. The site was previously occupied by

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s and the Women's Field. The library was built in three phases. Upon its completion in 1929, the building had a "figure 8" shape with two enclosed courtyards. A

bookstack In library science and architecture, a stack or bookstack (often referred to as a library building's ''stacks'') is a book storage area, as opposed to a reading area. More specifically, this term refers to a narrow-aisled, multilevel system ...

wing abutted the library on its west side. The library was purposely built away from the center of campus, a break from traditional campus planning, to allow the building to expand. This proved necessary; the library's holdings grew from 649,924 volumes in 1926 to one million volumes in 1935. To accommodate the library's ever-expanding collection, four further additions were added to the bookstack wing between 1939 and 1984. The library's north facade was extended westward in 1962-1964 in the same style as the original construction. To accommodate air conditioning equipment, a basement extension was added to the library's southwest corner in 1966-1968. Aerial view2 1980 (8186610342)

To help accommodate an influx in enrollment following

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 ...

, the University of Illinois opened a satellite campus in Galesburg. When the campus closed, its library's 25,000 volumes became the core collection of a new Undergraduate Library at the Urbana-Champaign campus. Originally housed in rooms 123 and 101 in the Main Library, the facility outgrew its space by 1963. A new, separate building for the Undergraduate Library was completed 1969. Located underground between the Main Library and the

Morrow Plots __NOTOC__ The Morrow Plots is an experimental agricultural field at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Named for Professor George E. Morrow, it is the oldest such field in the United States and the second oldest in the world. It was esta ...

, it is connected to the Main Library via a tunnel. In 2019, the university announced plans to modify the Main Library by demolishing five of the six bookstack additions on the west side of the building, which will be rebuilt with five stories. The new addition will accommodate interdisciplinary learning spaces, and compact shelving in the new basement will help compensate for the book storage lost by demolishing the stacks. As part of the project, undergraduate services will move to the Main Library from the Undergraduate Library, which the university will remodel to house the library's archives and special collections. Library administration expects construction to begin in 2022 and end in 2026.

Architecture

The Main Library is one of the eleven red brick

buildings designed by Platt as part of his campus master plan. The main (east) facade features a three-bay main entrance with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

archways and a green slate roof with a series of eleven

dormers A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

and four tall chimneys. Although university libraries were typically designed to be monumental focal points on their campuses, Platt instead placed the Main Library in a non-dominant position along the periphery of what would become the South Quad. However, the library's important role in university life is nevertheless expressed by its massive size. Its high arched windows are reminiscent of the

Sainte-Geneviève Library Sainte-Geneviève Library (french: link=no, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève) is a public and university library located at 10, place du Panthéon, across the square from the Panthéon, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. It is based on the ...

and the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...

. The Main Library's lobbies, circulation spaces, and second-floor reading room retain their elaborately-detailed historic features. The reading room has 27 stained glass windows showing

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

printer's mark A printer's mark, device, emblem or insignia is a symbol that was used as a trademark by early printers starting in the 15th century. The first printer's mark is found in the 1457 Mainz Psalter by Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer. One of the m ...

s, and four

Barry Faulkner Barry Faulkner (full name: Francis Barrett Faulkner; July 12, 1881 – October 27, 1966) was an American artist primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage s ...

murals decorate the walls of the central stairwell. The functional spaces and secondary areas of the library interior, which were originally fitted more simply than the public spaces, still retain their original wood trim.

Sculptures

The plaster model of ''The Pioneers'', a bronze sculpture by

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...

, sits in the library's south lobby. Its counterpart in the north lobby is the plaster model of ''

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he be ...

and

Alice Cogswell Alice Cogswell (August 31, 1805 – December 30, 1830) was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. Cogswell and Gallaudet At the age of two, Cogswell became il ...

'' by David Chester French. Two of the four limestone sculptures that are collectively known as ''Sons and Daughters of Deucalion and Pyrrha'' flank the library's east entrance. The other two are positioned nearby, just south of

Foellinger Auditorium The Foellinger Auditorium, located at 709 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana, Illinois on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is a concert hall and the university's largest lecture hall. It is the southernmost building on the main ...

. All four sculptures, carved by Walter Zimmerman under the direction of Lorado Taft, were displayed at Chicago's 1933

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

exposition. They were intended for a larger work called ''Fountain of Creation'' that Taft had planned for Jackson Park. A bust of former University of Illinois president Lloyd Morey was installed in the library's east lobby in 1911. It was stolen by a group that dubbed itself the Statue Liberation Society in 1982; the group had previously stolen the bust of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

from Lincoln Hall. The Morey bust was never recovered. Its alcove, which remains empty, is still engraved with his name.

Divisions

The Main Library houses various University Library departments and branch libraries. * Central Access Services (CAS) * History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library (HPNL) * Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit (IHLC) * International and Area Studies Library (IASL) * Literatures and Languages Library * Map Library * Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML) * Research and Information Services (RIS) * Scholarly Communications & Publishing * Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) * University Archives

Rare Book & Manuscript Library

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library within the Main Library building is one of the largest special collections repositories in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Its collections, consisting of over half a million volumes and three kilometers of

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

material, encompass the broad areas of literature, history, art, theology, philosophy, technology and the natural sciences, and include large collections of

emblem books An emblem book is a book collecting emblems (allegorical illustrations) with accompanying explanatory text, typically morals or poems. This category of books was popular in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emblem books are collection ...

, writings of and works about John Milton, and authors' personal papers.

Gallery

File:Architectural Detail - University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign - Illinois - USA - 05 (32752134212).jpg, Central stair hall File:Mainlibraryreadingroom.jpg, The reading room prior to its 2020 renovation File:UIUC Library Main Stacks.jpg, Shelving in the Main Stacks File:SSHEL (14674688273).jpg, SSHEL, 2014

References

External links

University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
{{DEFAULTSORT:Main Library (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Georgian Revival architecture in Illinois Library buildings completed in 1929 National Register of Historic Places in Champaign County, Illinois Buildings and structures of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Buildings and structures in Urbana, Illinois