Libraries at The George Washington University

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The Melvin Gelman Library opened in 1973, and received its current name in 1980.

The Jacob Burns Law Library opened in 1967. The Law Library was formerly located in Stockton Hall. Before Stockton Hall was built in 1925, the law library had several homes dating back to 1865.

The Paul Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library opened in 1973. Prior to the current library the Medical School library was located on H Street.

1821: The Columbian College Library began its existence, occupying two rooms on the second and third floors of the newly erected College building on College Hill, north of what is now Florida Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets, N.W. Later in the year, faculty members were sent to Europe to procure library books, among other items.

1823: In October the ship Electra arrived in Philadelphia carrying philosophical apparatus and books for the Columbian College.

1827: The 3,034 volumes in the library in 1825, along with other assets of the College, were conveyed in trust to three distinguished citizens to be held by them for the benefit of creditors.

1853: The library now numbering around 6,000 volumes, mostly theological in nature, and still occupying the original two rooms in the College building, came in for criticism from the Committee on Library and Apparatus. Complaints were voiced on the paucity of books of all kinds, except in theology, and on the need for more space, as well as for the preparation of a catalogue.

1868: Shortly after the end of the war the Hospital and Medical School moved to 1335 H Street. The Evening Express of August 24, 1868, described W.W. Corcoran's gift of the building as a place for students to "practice application of bandages and surgical appliances to use the microscope, and to practice on the manikin." It was also the beginning of a medical library.

1884: The now Columbian University Library (the change from Columbian College to Columbian University occurred in 1873) moved from College Hill to the new University building at 15th and H Streets, along with other segments of the University transferring to the site at the time.

1887: Through President Welling's efforts the Trustees of the University made, what was then, a very substantial appropriation toward the revival of the law library and the purchase of books.

1906: The library of the late Professor Richard Heinzel, of Vienna, containing 7,200 books and pamphlets in Germanic philology and literature and related fields, was acquired.

1907: Added to the above was the acquisition of the library of the late Professor Curt Wachsmuth, of Leipzig, consisting of 7,900 books and pamphlets in Greek and Roman literature, archaeology, and history.

1908: Through the generosity of the famous benefactor of libraries, Andrew Carnegie, and other donors, the Mount Vernon Alcove of the Political Sciences which covered the fields of international law and the social sciences was founded.

1912: Shifted again, the library moved into a large room on the first floor of the building previously housing St. Rose's Industrial School at 2023 G Street. Subsequently it expanded into an additional room on the second floor of the three-story building.

1925: The Law School library was named the Maury Memorial Law Library.

1930: The library received as a gift a very fine example of incunabula entitled Summa de Casibus Conscientiae, a theological work by Astesanus de Aste, and printed by Johann of Cologne and Johann Manthen, two of the important early Venetian printers.

1939: The new University Library building was opened on the site of the demolished St. Rose's Industrial School which had housed the library for 27 years, the new quarters taking the name The Abram Lisner Hall, from the former Trustee and generous benefactor who donated the funds for its construction.

1950: This year marked the acquisition by gift from Miss Matilda Wright, as a memorial to her brother, W. Lloyd Wright, of the latter's collection on the City of Washington, containing 1,500 books and pamphlets, in addition to a number of photographs, prints and water colors, letters, documents, and other memorabilia covering the period from the 1790s to 1950.

• The 60,000 volume library of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, covering the subjects of international law and relations, history, and economics, was purchased.

1966: The Trustees adopted a recommendation to initiate construction of the Law Library.

1967: The main reading room of the new National Law Center was named in honor of Newell Ellison.

• The Jacob Burns Law Library was completed.

1970: The University celebrated the acquisition of the 500,000th volume in the combined University libraries' collections--a manuscript copy of Elmer Louis Kayser's book, Bricks Without Straw: the Evolution of George Washington University.

1971: The groundbreaking ceremony for the new George Washington University Library building was held on February 15th. The new library is located at 2130 H Street, NW.

1973: The GW University Library was completed October 13th: a special Convocation was held for the dedication of the University Library.

• The University's new medical school building and medical library--Walter G. Ross Hall and the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library--was completed. This new facility replaced the outdated facilities at 13th and H.

• The Paul Himmelfarb Library was designed to be attractive as well as efficient, embodying new ideas in audiovisual equipment. It has a closed-circuit system to pick up lectures and demonstrations from any part of the Medical Center. With a seating capacity of 399 and room for 80,000 volumes and 1500 periodicals the facility marked a new beginning for medical library research at the University.

1979: James B. Alsip was named new University Librarian.

1980: The University Library becomes the Melvin Gelman Library at a Service of Naming on May 14th. Melvin Gelman was an alumnus and generous benefactor of the University.

1982: The National Law Center expansion program began with the renovation of the Jacob Burns Law Library and Stockton Hall. Bacon Hall was replaced by a new classroom building.

1984: Dr. Sharon Rogers became the University Librarian.

• The Gelman Library celebrated its tenth anniversary (1983-84 academic year). At a ceremony on March 28th, the library receives its one millionth volume, the Property of Samuel Blodget. Blodget was an early landowner in the District of Columbia.

• The Jacob Burns Law Library was dedicated on Thursday, October 18th.

1985: "Informing the Future" was chosen as the new Gelman Library motto. Professor David Brown donated an issue of The NewYork Herald, April 15, 1865, reporting President Lincoln's assassination.

• The annual Bibliography of Faculty Publications was accepted as a function of the University Archives.

• The Gelman Library Collections Council had its first organizational meeting.

1986: On July 11 the Library Council of the Consortium agrees to accept the recommendation of the Project Review Group that NOTIS be the preferred computer system to be used by the Washington Consortium.

• The library's first staff recognition awards were presented.

• The Friends of the Libraries publication, Friend's Newsletter was launched.

• The Friends of the Libraries hosted the official presentation to Gelman Library of the Archive of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington.

• A fee based information service was set up in the Gelman Library. This service will become the Gelman Library Information Service (GLIS).

1987: The new position of Subject Specialist Coordinator was announced with Dan Barthell in the role.

• The card catalog was converted to compact disk.

• The newly renovated Gelman Library was formally opened on August 1987 (Gelman remodeling project first-floor renovation).

1988: The Gelman Library began a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for the creation of a University Archives and Records Program at the University.

• The Gelman Library acquired a basic collection of Yiddish books from the National Yiddish book center. This, combined with other Yiddish volumes previously owned by the Library is the largest Yiddish collection in the District of Columbia, except the Library of Congress.

• The Educational Commission of the People's Republic of China donated 1,000 volumes of Chinese literature.

1989: On August 4th the Gelman Library participated in "A Year in Review," a celebration of Stephen Joel Trachtenberg's first year at GW.

• Gelman Library received a collection of travel and tourism publications (from the World Tourism Organization).

• The creation of the library student tuition gift fund, initiated by President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in 1989-90, was an important component in providing for the implementation of ALADIN, the purchase of compact shelving and shift of collections, the purchase of additional computers, and enhancements to the book collection.

1990: "Aladin" was chosen as the wordmark for the WRLC Catalog.

1991: The Virginia Campus Library opened.

• The Graduate Study and Twenty-Four Hour Reading Room was dedicated.

• Walter E. Fauntroy, long-time delegate to Congress, donated his papers to the University. They will be housed in the Department of Special Collections.

1992: Dr. Sharon Rogers became the new Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at GW. That same year Deborah Masters was appointed Interim University Librarian.

1993: The Gelman Library celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The Friend's of the Libraries marked their 20th Anniversary.

• The Gelman Library received over 2,000 books and papers from the late University Professor Marcus Cunliffe.

1994: "New Washingtoniana Manuscript Collections Available" Five collections are related to the history of Washington, DC. The first was the archives of Friendship House.

• Columbian Women celebrated 100 years of service to GW, illustrated through an exhibit in Special Collections.

1995: Jack A. Siggins began as the University Librarian.

• The Gelman Library hosted the welcoming reception for the National Security Archive on January 31, 1995.

• The Gelman Library became a smoke free building.

• The Himmelfarb Library acquired a new integrate library system.

• In 1995-96, the Library implemented a new CD-ROM LAN as the first step towards campus-wide and remote access to these information sources.

1996: In 1995-96, through a combination of increased Library funding, cooperative agreements and gifts, the Information Center for the Former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and East Asia was able to expand significantly its reference and serials collections.

• The University Archives augmented the culture of the University. In 1995-96, staff contributed significantly to events and projects marking the 175th Anniversary of the founding of the University, including provision of photographs, graphics, and documentation for production of the book From Strength to Strength.

1997-1998: The Melvin Gelman Library celebrated its 25th Anniversary of the building.

• The Gelman Library celebrated the gift of an extensive Judaica collection from Dr. and Mrs. Ari Kiev. The I. Edward Kiev Collection is housed in the Kiev Room on the Seventh Floor.

• The Lower Level was remodeled to accommodate 60 new computer terminals available to students 24 hours a day; a resource center for faculty to develop new multimedia instructional programs; and a student facility for computerized self-instruction. The Library, in partnership with CIRC, unveiled the networked study carrels on the 4th and 5th floors. Students are able to check out notebook computers and use them to search ALADIN at 61 carrels.

• In 1996 Mount Vernon College announced plans to affiliate with The George Washington University. In 1998 GW and Mount Vernon College began an eighteen-month transition to The George Washington University at Mount Vernon College. As a result of the affiliation the Eckles Memorial Library, located on the campus of the Mount Vernon College became a part of the University library system.

• Plans were finalized for the restructuring of Gelman’s sixth and seventh floors.

• The GW History Center opened in May 1998.

1998: The Gelman Library, in partnership with the Computer and Information Resource Center, unveiled the networked study carrels on the 4th and 5th floors and made notebook computers available to students.

1998 - 1999: GW became a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). ARL is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 120 libraries comprising the leading research libraries in North America. Its mission is to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication.

• The sixth and seventh floors are complete and open for use.

2001: The Web Team launched a completely redesigned Library web site of over 1,200 pages. This major project required the revision of nearly all pages by three to five librarians and one student assistant.

• The Gelman Library raised funds for the two-millionth volume, Illustrated Atlas of the United States, and Adjacent Countries and the two-million–and-first volume, Web of Science.

2004: Starbucks Construction is underway. A Starbucks Café is installed on the first floor of the Gelman Library.

2005: The Special Collections and University Archives Department moved to new facilities on the 7th Floor of the Gelman Library.

2005: Sprinklers were installed throughout the Gelman Library.

2006: GW received the historic records from PNC-Riggs Bank Archives that were valued at more than $5 million. Included in the gift are records documenting personal finances of Abraham Lincoln, Francis Scott Key, and Susan B. Anthony.

Document Information

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Author or Source: Information for this chronology was gathered from the GW Library History Collections. These include minutes, flyers, accession logs, reports and the files from Renaissance Times
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: January 04, 2007
Prepared by: G. David Anderson, University Archivist and Historian

For more information about GW history

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