History of the Libraries
1800s |
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| 1881 | Founding of ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵCollege at 10th and State Streets |
| 1883 | Reading room established in college building |
1900-1945 |
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| 1900 | College library and gymnasium installed in former Holy Name Parochial School building on 10th St. |
| 1906-08 | ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵCollege re-charters as a university. Medical and Dental School libraries established. |
| 1907 | ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ opens its academic year in new quarters in Johnston Hall. Library moves into quarters on the main floor. |
| 1908 | Law School and Engineering College established. Corresponding libraries established. |
| 1910 | Schools of Business and Journalism established. |
| 1922 | Graduate School established. |
| 1925 | Library reorganization planned under the new ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵBureau of Information and Statistics (Irma Hochstein, Director). |
| 1926-30 | Cataloging with the Dewey Decimal system initiated with assistance from UW Library School and student field workers. Consolidation of departmental collections in new Johnston Hall Library, Room 207. |
| 1928 | First "trained" librarian, Mary M. Marshall begins work. |
| 1929 | First cataloger, Marie Scheie begins work. |
| 1930-45 | Rev. Francis L. Betten, S.J., Director of Libraries. |
| 1931 | Statistics reveal inventory of 30,000 books, 100 periodicals and 100 loan-outs per day. Catalog combined for all departmental libraries. |
| 1941 | Fr. Betten begins planning for a new library. |
| 1942 | Science Library now in Science Building (ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵHall). Periodical Library branch now located in Canisius Hall, an old home at 604 N. 13th St. (now old section of Business Administration building). |
| 1945 | New library planning committee formed. |
| 1945-55 | Mary K. Dempsey, Director. |
1946-1999 |
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| 1953 | Completion and dedication of Memorial Library building. |
| 1955-63 | William Ready, director. |
| 1957 | Acquisition of the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection for Archives. |
| 1961 | Founding of the Archives by Rev. Raphael Hamilton, S.J.. Acquisition of Sen. Joseph McCarthy papers for Archives. |
| 1962 | Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker collections acquired for Archives. |
| 1964-70 | William Fitzgerald, Director. |
| 1968 | Dedication of Legal Research Center, Law Library. |
| 1971-73 | James Riley, Director. |
| 1971 | Completion of new addition to Memorial Library. |
| 1972 | Journal cataloging with Library of Congress classification system. |
| 1973 | Memorial Library designated a Foundation Center Collection and service site. |
| 1974 | Rev. James J. Kortendick, S.S., Acting Director. |
| 1974-95 | William M. Gardner, Director. |
| 1974 | Formation of Department of Special Collections and University Archives. |
| 1974 | Installation of Interlibrary Loan teletype and 3M tattle tape security system. |
| 1974 | Formation of Library Council of Metropolitan Milwaukee. |
| 1975 | Academic Librarians' Assembly formed. |
| 1975 | First edition published of Foundations in Wisconsin. |
| 1975 | Twenty-one librarians on staff. |
| 1976 | Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission records acquired for Archives. |
| 1977 | OCLC access obtained through Council of Wisconsin Libraries. |
| 1978 | Medical School (which separated from ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵin 1967) leaves quarters at present Schroeder Complex for the new facilities in Wauwatosa. |
| 1981 | New Science Library opens in former Medical School space, Schroeder Complex. All Nursing, Dental, and Engineering Collections go to LC Classification. Jay Kirk, Director. |
| 1982 | Libraries participate in a national survey of library usage directed by Tantalus, Inc. |
| 1988 | INNOVACQ system goes online for serials and acquisitions. |
| 1989 | MARQCAT online public catalog opens, incorporating Memorial, Science, and Law Libraries. |
| 1990 | MARQCAT circulation initiated, integrated system implemented. |
| 1991 | Dewey classification ceases, Library of Congress classification conversion project for Memorial Collections begins. |
| 1993 | Using Gopher technology an online campus-wide information system jointly administered by the Libraries and the Computer Services Division (CSD, now called Information Technology Services), was made available to the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵcommunity. A naming contest selects Marquest as the name for the system. |
| 1995 | Dr. Nicholas C. Burckel becomes the 8th Director of Libraries. |
| 1996 | Library of Congress classification conversion project completed for Memorial Library. All library general collections in Library of Congress classification. Campus computer network attachments made in Memorial Library. Staff begin using PC based access to the campus network and to the Internet. |
| 1997 | First wired classroom/lab opens, funded by Parents Association. Rev. John P. Raynor dies, inspiring anonymous challenge gift of $10 million to begin new library planning. |
| 1998 | MARQCAT moves to a Web-based interface. Turnstiles and photocopiers converted to use ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵIDs. Libraries participate in rollout of the PrintWise pay-for-print service. Library establishes a site (MORE--ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵOnline Research Environment) on the Web. |
| 1999 | Laptop computers complete with wireless cards made available for checkout. |
2000-present |
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| 2000 | Y2k doesn't destroy the world. Major collections of JSTOR and Project MUSE licensed for campus use. Circulation and Serials staff functions in MARQCAT move to a graphical based system (Millennium). Over 9,900 files from Special Collections and University Archives moved to the University Web server to create a Web presence. Library users get the option of receiving library notices via e-mail. |
| 2001 | Groundbreaking ceremony for Raynor Library (Oct. 1). Foundations in Wisconsin moved from CD-ROM to Web-based access. Library users can create their own "holds" on materials checked out. MARQCAT searches via Z39.50 enabled. |
| 2002 | Construction begins on Memorial's 2nd and 3rd levels to prepare for the connecting bridge to Raynor Library. Table of Contents information for recently purchased books added to MARQCAT. |
| 2003 | Raynor Library opens (August 4). 24/7 hours begin (Sept. 2). Library dedication (Sept. 19) featuring Martin Sheen, who received an honorary degree. Renovation of Memorial Library lower, 1st, and 2nd levels continues through much of 2004. Francis Paul Prucha, S.J., Archives Reading Room Dedicated (October 2). |
| 2004 | Technical services departments move into new 1st floor quarters in January. Lower level of Memorial Library opens new compact shelving area for Memorial bound periodicals. Second phase of compact shelving added to accommodate Science Periodicals. Renovation of Memorial shelving and reading areas completed. Entire Memorial monographic collection shifted to incorporate Science Library collection. Science Library closes as a public facility. |
| 2005 | Plugged roof drain in fall causes major water damage through all floors of Raynor. |
| 2006 | Janice Simmons-Welburn becomes 9th Director/Dean of Library. Link resolver (WebBridge) added to MARQCAT enables transition from database citations to full text. |
| 2007 | First business manager (Greg Wutcheck) hired. Michael Pate, Assistant Director, retires after 22 years at MU. Online chat reference, MEEBO, introduced. |
| 2008 | Jean Zanoni appointed Associate Dean. First-ever digital projects librarian hired. Quick Search (a.k.a. Research Pro) federated search engine added to MARQCAT. Count of licensed online databases reaches 400. |
| 2009 | Library residency program established. Discovery catalog platform, Encore, and redesigned MARQCAT debuted in August. Redesigned web site launched in December. |
| 2011 | Libraries go mobile! Access to MARQCAT and the Libraries' website was made available to mobile devices. The Saint John's Bible and the Stephen Sondheim Collection added to Special Collections. |
| 2013 | Libraries conduct Scholarly Communications Symposium. EBSCO's Discovery Service becomes the new MARQCATplus. Online reservations for group study rooms implemented. e-Publications delivers their 1 millionth download. Library sponsors first annual Dr. Martin Luther King Lecture. Digital Media Studio established to assist students incorporating media into their classroom presentations. |
| 2014 | Alumni access added for two EBSCO databases. Special Collections and University Archives lecture series commemorates 75th anniversary of The Hobbit. Special Collections and University Archives scans their 10,000th image. |
| 2015 | First Digital Scholarship Symposium was held, helping launch the digital scholarship community at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵand inagurating what would become an annual symposium tradition. |
| 2016 | Digital Scholarship Lab launched in the lower level of Raynor Library, offering a suite of expertise, media equipment and software, and creative/learning spaces for students and faculty--and taking the place of the Digital Media Studio. Microform materials shifted from Raynor's lower level to storage in Memorial Library. Digital Programs moves from Memorial to become colocated with the Digital Scholarship Lab |
| 2020 | Raynor Library closes its physical facilities and shifts almost all work to virtual amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2021 | Dean Janice Welburn retires after 15 years of service to Raynor Library. |
| 2022 | Alumnus Marcus Lemonis and wife Bobbi Lemonis donate $15 million to ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ to create a center for student success to be housed in a renovated Memorial Library. |
| 2022 | Dr. Tara Baillargeon named dean of libraries. |
| 2023 | Construction begins on the Lemonis Center for Student Success. ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ's Tech Squad relocates to Raynor Library as part of a remodeling in that building. |
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