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National Library Week (2022): Miami University Library Facilities

Miami University Library Facilities

  • Picture: Old Main HallIn the beginning: Old Main - The first library at Miami operated out of a room in Old Main Hall, Miami’s first academic building. The Library moved out of Old Main and into a newly constructed facility in 1910. Old Main was later replaced by Harrison Hall, located just around the corner from King Library.
     
  • Picture: Alumni Hall over entranceNext in line: Alumni Library - When Miami’s original library outgrew its space in Old Main Hall, the University obtained $40,000 from businessman Andrew Carnegie and matched that amount to fund the construction of the next library at Miami. Alumni Library, built just across the quad from Old Main, served at the main university library facility from 1910 – 1972.

 The Miami University Libraries have expanded since the closing of Alumni Library, with several branches in Oxford and one each at the Middletown and Hamilton campuses. These libraries serve the Oxford Campus today:

  • King Library - with the closing of Alumni Library in 1972, there was only 1 weekend to move materials into the newly built King Library. As a result, students pitched in to help: Books were transferred between the buildings over a single weekend by a large team of student employees and library staff.

    This
     facility has undergone multiple rounds of renovation to ensure that it offers the best and most up-to-date services for Miami’s students, faculty, and staff. Some of the more recent renovations have expanded the Howe Writing Center, and added new services including the Libraries’ Makerspace on the third floor of King Library.
  • Amos Music Library - Housed in the Center for Performing Arts, this facility houses the core collections of print books, scores, and recordings that serve the music department, and provides digital equipment.
     
  • Picture: rear of Alumni HallWertz Art & Architecture Library - This facility continues the tradition of a library presence in Alumni Hall, which once housed the University's central library. Wertz houses the primary collection of print books related to art and architecture, as well as providing study rooms, digital equipment, and specialized printing formats.
     
  • Havighurst Special Collections + Archives -  The Department of Steward & Sustain in the WalterPicture: Special Collections Reading Room Havighurst Special Collections, University Archives & Preservation holds over 95,000 volumes, including rare books, manuscripts, and special subject collections. Collection strengths include: the history and culture of the Ohio Valley/Old Northwest Territory; the history of transportation, especially in the 19th century; the American Civil War; pre- and post-revolutionary Russian history, art and literature; William Holmes McGuffey and his Readers; 19th century gift books; and children’s literature, especially the 18th through the 20th centuries, including 19th century schoolbooks. Included are over 600,000 postcards. 

    The archives held at Miami University are comprised of three archives: the Miami University Archives, which contains manuscripts, publications, photographs, and artifacts dealing with Miami University history; the Western College Memorial Archives, which holds materials from the Board of Trustee records dating back to 1853; and the Oxford College Archives, which documents the history of the women’s college.