Thirty-one boxes (Boxes 1-30); 30.5 linear feet

The Carnegie Institute of Technology Library opened on January 6, 1920 in partnership with the Carnegie Public Library of Pittsburgh. Previous to 1920, Carnegie Tech students were urged to use the Carnegie Public Library nearby and many departments kept their own collections for students to use. The first home for the University Library was a building called the “Y Hut,” which was located on The Cut near the senior fence. According to A.W. Tarbell, it was a “squat, one-story affair with uncertain foundations, wooden walls, and a double battery of half-dormer windows.” The first librarian was Blanche Wappat. She worked with one full time assistant and three students to bring together and catalog the individual department collections. A Science School Library was also established at this time in Room 52 of the Science Building to bring together the periodicals and books throughout the departments and provide a quiet study and general reading area for the science students. A separate Engineering Library was located in Machinery Hall.

In 1943, the Library moved to room 240 in Industries Hall (now Porter Hall) so that the Y Hut could be used as a dining facility again. Due the addition of 7,000 new volumes, the library collection quickly outgrew the space in Industries Hall. In 1948 it was moved to rooms 355- 360 of the Administration Building (now Baker Hall) and the Social Relations Library was incorporated in an adjoining room.

In 1946 the Special Library Committee recommended that departmental libraries be discontinued so that a proper inventory of collections could be made and henceforth administered by a professional librarian. It would be many years, however, until a suitable space would be available to make this consolidation possible. Departmental libraries continued to operate in the Arts, Margaret Morrison, Science and Engineering. It was not until 1960 that a building was specifically designed and built to house the library collection. The Hunt Library opened for students at the beginning of the 1961 fall semester.

The Mellon Institute Library was added with the joining of Mellon Institute to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1970. The Engineering Library and Science Library were combined in the early 1960s.

• 1920- Blanche K.S. Wappat
• 1937- Ralph Munn
• 1946- Melvin J. Voight
• 1953- Kenneth Fagerhaugh
• 1974- Ruth R. Corrigan
• 1980- Thomas J. Michalak
• 1992- Barbara Richards
• 1992- Charles Lowry
• 1996- Erika Linke
• 1999- Gloriana St. Clair

Library Automation: The University Library received its first grant for automated library research in 1978 from the A.W. Mellon Foundation. In 1982 the ILS (Information Library System) was introduced to a number of library functions including cataloging, circulation, and acquisitions. The card catalog was discontinued in 1984 with the introduction of the LS2000 online catalog. In 1989, the Library began research to create its own automated library system to incorporate multiple databases and servers at once. The Mercury Project produced the Library Information System (LIS) in 1992. Other projects undertaken to bring library information to students faster and more efficiently through networks and computers have included TULIP (1993-1997), the Virtual Library (1993-1998), and HELIOS (1993-1999).

Carnegie Library School: The Carnegie Library School was established in 1901 but became a partnership between the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Public Library in 1916. It was a four year course open to women. Over time the program admitted men and became a graduate program that could be completed in one calendar year. By 1930, the Library School had become one of the “colleges” at CIT, even though the classes were held at the Carnegie Public Library. In 1962 the Library School was transferred to the University of Pittsburgh.

The University Libraries records are housed in thirty archival boxes and are arranged in eight series. Series have been designated for administrative records, associations, automation projects, collection information, Directors’ files, publications, services, and oversized materials. These records include annual reports, correspondence, minutes, reports, articles, and publications pertaining mainly to the University Libraries but inclusive also of the Carnegie Library School and various issues of Library Automation. In general, the history of the University Libraries and its activities are well represented through the eight series of this collection. The series represent distinct activities of the library and therefore there is little overlap in the information within the series- with the exception of the administrative files which encompass all of the Libraries activities. The three major series in the collection are administrative records, automation projects, and Directors’ files. Areas of lesser documentation include faculty and staff records, publications, and service information.

These materials were received from various Library administrators including Barbara Richards, Gabrielle Michalak, and Gloriana St. Clair.

Files of the Library Director Search Committee and one folder containing an inventory and appraisal of the Posner Collection (Special Collections) are restricted. Access will be considered only on a case by case basis by the University Archivist and cannot be guaranteed.

• One linear foot of records were sent to PALINET from the PRLC records.
• One linear foot of records from the Board of Trustees Visiting Committee was added to the existing collection.
• One linear foot of software manuals was added to the existing collection.
• One folder of 1966 blueprints for a Library at Mount Mercy College (Carlow University) was given to Carlow University Archives.
• One VHS tape titled “Computer Skills Workshop: Macintosh” from 1988 containing information about MacDraw and MacWrite programs.

March 28, 2007; Papers arranged and finding aid written by Cassandra Nespor with the assistance of Molly Tighe.