From the Dean: Reflections on the 125th Anniversary

As we embark upon our celebration of 125 years of learning at Marquette University, I invite you to envision its earliest library and its staff.  As the library’s newest dean, finding out more about Marquette’s first library caught my interest in the historical context of our services and collections.

The very first library, or “reading room” as it was called, was established in 1883, some two years after the founding of the university.  With a mere 1,000 volumes, the library was created to “foster a taste for reading.”  By 1900, the reading room was moved to a new location on 10th St., with recorded holdings of 11,000 items, and officially designated as the College Library.

The collection continued to grow, was moved into the new Johnston Hall in 1907, and in 1908 Marquette’s library was named by a Catholic magazine as “one of the best in the Northwest,” a reputation that the library sustained over the years.  In 1929 the Library hired Mary Marshall as its first full time, professionally trained librarian.  By 1953 the University built Memorial Library with the capacity to hold a half million volumes, opened an addition to Memorial Library in 1971, then opened a separate Science Library in 1981 to alleviate overcrowding in Memorial Library.   Yet it was not until 2003 that the campus libraries were substantially expanded with the opening of the John P. Raynor, S.J., Library.  Raynor Memorial Libraries became home for cutting-edge library information technologies in a nationally admired, state-of-the art facility.

Throughout their history, Marquette's libraries have been guided by a mission to “provide access to recorded knowledge in all forms to aid the teaching, research, and personal growth of the students, faculty, and staff of the University”.  From its beginnings as a modest reading room to the present day home for print and electronic information and a staff committed to encouraging scholarship and learning, the library has served an important role in the lives of Marquette’s students.  As we near one and a half million volumes, our collections are important to student learning, teaching, and research activities--all of which are vital to the mission of our university and to the needs of the broader society.   More important than the various buildings that the library has called home over the years, the University has been served by the tremendous strength of library staff with an ongoing dedication to providing Marquette students with a rich academic and cultural experience and faculty with support for their scholarship.

Whether you are new or returning member of the Marquette family, I hope that each of you will continue to take advantage of our resources and the expertise of our staff.