A Comprehensive History of the Undergraduate Library at UIUC

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) boasts a rich history of academic excellence and innovation, with its library system playing a central role in supporting the university's mission. Among its various libraries, the Undergraduate Library (UGL) held a unique place, serving as a hub for undergraduate students for over five decades. This article delves into the history of the UGL, from its origins to its recent closure and future plans.

Origins and Planning

The seeds of the UGL were sown in 1949 when the University's Galesburg branch was shuttered, and its collection of 25,000 volumes was relocated to the first-floor reading room of the main library. A decade later, "The Undergraduate Climate at the University" was the topic of the third President's Faculty Conference. The result of that retreat at Allerton Park was a resolution to build an undergraduate library. This resolution became a reality on September 21, 1966, with the groundbreaking of the new Undergraduate Library, followed by its dedication three years later on November 15, 1969.

Design and Construction

Designed by Richardson, Severns, Scheeler & Associates, Inc, the Undergraduate Library cost $4,240,125, including $3,150,000 for the actual construction, $400,000 for furnishings, and $690,125 for landscaping and other miscellaneous costs, leading to a total cost of $42.96 per square foot. The library itself measures 241 feet 9 inches by 217 feet 8 inches, and is connected to the main library through a 170 by 14 foot tunnel. Preliminary site sketches were produced by Ambrose Richardson, Consulting Architect, at the October 26, 1963 Board of Trustees Meeting, "showing how such a building could be constructed below grade in the quadrangle between the Auditorium and the Stock Pavilion and connected with the University Library". Clark, Altay and Associates designed the interior of the library, while McCarthy-Hathman Construction Company built the structure.

The UGL was built around a 72 by 72 foot square central courtyard. The two-story, 98,689 square foot library has a capacity of 150,000 volumes and seats 1,899, with 166 lounge chairs, 542 4x6 foot tables, and 1,191 study carrels. The carrels are 40 inches wide by 30 inches deep, with privacy panels rising to 53 inches above the floor. There are 106 listening carrels offering "106 stations and [with a] control room designed to make available audio materials [the control room provides] channels for 80 monaural or 40 stereo programs, some combination of them at one time, and AM-FM radio".

The University anticipated very heavy use of the new facility and so provided twin 26 by 72 foot entrances with circulation desks, allowing books to be checked out in either one. Today only one of the entrances is in use. As a rare example of forethought, the building's designers provided "additional telephone and electric conduits 'for eventual use in a computerized on-line circulation system'". Indeed, less than ten years later, in 1978, the Library took "a big step into the electronic age" when "typewriter-size computer terminals [were] placed throughout the Library and in all 35 departmental units".

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The Underground Design

An often-asked question regarding the Undergraduate Library is why it was built underground. The common answer given by most is that the architects simply didn't want to cast shade on the neighboring Morrow Plots. This is only partially correct. In fact, one of the bigger reasons was that the Campus Master Plan of the day required an open mall behind the Auditorium to maintain symmetry.

Features and Amenities

The UGL provided a wide range of resources and services to support undergraduate learning and research. These included:

Extensive Collections: A curated collection of books, journals, and other materials specifically tailored to the needs of undergraduate students. The two-story 98,689 square foot library has a capacity of 150,000 volumes.
Study Spaces: A variety of study environments, including individual carrels, group study rooms, and comfortable lounge areas. It seats 1,899, with 166 lounge chairs, 542 4x6 foot tables, and 1,191 study carrels.
Audio Center: A dedicated space for students to access and enjoy music and other audio materials. There are 106 listening carrels offering "106 stations and [with a] control room designed to make available audio materials [the control room provides] channels for 80 monaural or 40 stereo programs, some combination of them at one time, and AM-FM radio".
Information Desk: Knowledgeable staff available to assist students with research and navigate library resources.
Technological Integration: As early as 1978, the Library took "a big step into the electronic age" when "typewriter-size computer terminals [were] placed throughout the Library and in all 35 departmental units".

Evolution and Adaptation

Throughout its history, the UGL adapted to the changing needs of students and the evolving landscape of information access. This included:

Embracing Technology: The UGL was an early adopter of library automation, with the introduction of computer terminals in 1978.
Renovations and Improvements: In 2003, the pedestrian tunnel connecting the UGL to the Main Library was redesigned by senior architectural and industrial design students and was painted in a blue/orange gradient. The class of 1991 spent $40,000 re-landscaping the courtyard. The large evergreen tree which stands in a concrete pot in isolation on the Undergraduate Library Mall was planted in 1996.
Digital Resources: The UGL expanded its offerings to include electronic resources, online databases, and digital collections.

Closure and Future Plans

In May 2022, the UGL permanently closed as part of a years-long plan by the University Library to renovate the building. While the closure marked the end of an era, the University Library is committed to providing alternative spaces and resources for undergraduate students.

Concept art shows the new Special Collections Facility replacing the Undergraduate Library. The Daily Illini Photo File shows students study at the Undergraduate Library on March 12, 2019. The UGL will be closing on Saturday in starting its four-year renovation with other locations such as the ACES and the Grainger Engineering library providing accommodations for students.

Memories and Legacy

For generations of Illinois alumni, the UGL holds a special place in their memories. It was more than just a library; it was a social hub, a place to meet friends, study, and create lasting memories. As the proverb says, all good things must come to an end.

Alumni from the 20th century fondly remember the UGL in an analog age of hard copies and hi-fis. Out-of-state students, such as Tammy Hart Fales, ’84 LAS, went there on weekends to read their hometown newspapers. Music fans, like Joseph McInerney, ’85 BUS, spent some of the best hours of their lives in the Audio Center, listening to LPs. And information seekers, such as Elaine Caveny Stone, ’91 ACES, and Pam Swan Lovett, ’94 AHS, tacked handwritten queries on the UGL Question Board several times a week.

The UGL was a place where students came to see and be seen, to study or not to study, and for many, it became a small, but important part, of their personal history. For some, such as Jeanne Kron Bellezzo, ’86 BUS, it was the place where they drank their first-ever cup of coffee, beginning a lifelong love for that beautiful bean. Dedicated in 1969, the facility served for more than 50 years as a familiar space for learning and socializing.

The Broader University Library System

The Undergraduate Library was an integral part of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, one of the largest public academic libraries in the United States. The University Library came into being before the university with which it is affiliated, as the university board considered it essential that students and faculty would have books waiting to greet them when the university opened its doors. The earliest Library collection consisted of around one thousand items.

Today, with holdings of more than 15 million volumes, the Library has strengths in many areas, ranging from hard sciences to the humanities. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library is one of the largest public academic libraries in the United States, "more than thirteen million volumes and 24 million items and materials in all formats, languages, and subjects, including 9 million microforms, 120,000 serials, 148,000 audio-recordings, over 930,000 audiovisual materials, over 280,000 electronic books, 12,000 films, and 650,000 maps." Beyond print books, the University Library's collections include DVDs, video games, and comic books. The University Library holds a significant collection of Indian comics, one of the largest of its kind in North America, featuring works in Hindi and other Indian languages. The Library also owns two copies of a brick from Abraham Lincoln's home, both by mason Harry C.

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The University Library is part of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, or CARLI. Additionally, the Library participates in WorldCat. The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, known as IDEALS, is the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's institutional repository. Since 2010, Master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations completed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been deposited in IDEALS. Scholars may decide to whom, and how soon, their works should be available.

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) at Illinois acquired the Gwendolyn Brooks archives in 2014, reflecting its role in promoting literary studies and outreach activities. RBML also holds the Carl Sandburg archives, and in 2013 librarians with RBML discovered previously unknown poems among the poet's papers. Additionally, the Rare Books & Manuscript Library holds personal archives of French novelist Marcel Proust; English writers John Milton, H.G.

The University Archives preserves and collects records, publications, correspondence, and personal papers from or about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign community. Items collected range from yearbooks, called "Illios," to fraternity documents to newspapers covering University sports, new initiatives, and even world wars. The Archives curates and organizes both physical and digital collections. The University of Illinois Archives is also the repository for the American Library Association's archives. It includes the Student Life and Culture Archives, which, since its foundation in 1989, has focused on preserving documents related to its titular student life and culture on the campus. The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, in the Harding Band Building, holds many of American composer and bandleader John Philip Sousa's personal and professional archives. The Sousa Archives is also the home of Herbert L.

The University Library serves researchers of all levels. Ask-A-Librarian is the Library's instant messaging reference service. Illinois faculty, staff, and students can chat with a librarian for extended hours and get their questions answered from wherever they are. Subject librarians are available to provide expert assistance to all departments and colleges on campus. The department's subject librarian, who often has an additional degree or significant training in that department's subject area, is available to help affiliated faculty, staff, and students with library research. They also create webpages and other guides to help students taking courses in their subject area.

The Library's Research Data Service (RDS) is a partnership between the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Provost, the Library, GSLIS, CITES, and NCSA. RDS offers researchers information on data management plans (DMPs) for different agencies as well as tips and tricks for effectively organizing and sharing data with co-researchers. Located on the third floor of the Main Library, the Scholarly Commons is a hub for digital and data-based research. The space includes software packages and hardware for data visualization, manipulation, and analysis, including ArcGIS, R, and Atlas.ti. In addition to tools, many experts staff the Scholarly Commons. These experts have experience and knowledge in digitization, metadata creation and schemas, copyright law, statistical analysis, database design, and digital humanities. All experts are available to provide consultation to Illinois affiliates needing assistance in their area.

The University Library offers multiple workshop sessions on data management. These sessions cover file naming, metadata, sharing, storage and permanence. Because every academic unit on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus has an affiliated subject librarian, instructors from that area can request their subject librarian teach sessions on library searching, resource evaluation, data management, and information literacy. Savvy Researcher workshops are open to all Illinois affiliates. These 50-minute sessions cover a range of topics, all of which help affiliates do advanced research, searching, evaluation, and data analysis. Workshops help students, faculty, and staff navigate the full research life cycle, from the literature review to citation management.

The Library has specific pages devoted to learning how to use library resources. There are several options for those hoping to tour the Main Library space. Tours are offered at the beginning of every Fall and Spring semester. Tours are also available for any Illinois group on request. The Library also participates in many campus and departmental orientations. The University Library often holds events on topics relating to Library collections, services, and patron interests. For example, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library often curates displays and holds events when they procure new collections. Other departmental libraries, including the International and Area Studies Library (IAS) and the University Archives regularly offers events open to the community.

Because Illinois is a public, land-grant institution, any resident of the state of Illinois with a photo ID can request a borrowing card. Proof of Illinois address is needed before a card can be issued. Courtesy borrowing cards are accepted at all departmental libraries within the Illinois system. Courtesy cards do not make community members eligible for services like Interlibrary loan or I-Share borrowing services. Additionally, anyone with a library card from a library with CARLI membership can check out books from any Illinois departmental library. They will simply check the books out under their home institution's record. Likewise, anyone from a library within the Big Ten Academic Alliance (formerly Committee on Institutional Cooperation-CIC) can borrow materials from the university by using the library card issued to them from their home institution.

A Timeline of the University Library's History

1867: Illinois Industrial University is founded. The Board of Trustees appropriates $1,000 for the purchase of 644 volumes to be housed in the office of Regent Gregory who served as Librarian.
1878: Library is transferred to the newly constructed University Hall, located on the present site of the Illini Union.
1893: Library School is established; Charles M. Library School is established at Armour Institute in Chicago; Charles M.
1897: Library is moved to a newly constructed building (later named Altgeld Hall). Katharine Sharp is named Librarian and Director of the Library School (1897-1907).
1907: Francis K.W.
1909: Phineas Windsor is named Librarian and Director of the Library School (1909-1940).
1912: University President Edmund J. University President Edmund J. James proposes the creation of a research library on par with those at the great German academic institutions.
1926: The Library moves into its new building (the current main library building). Under the inspiration of library dean Phineas L.
1929: President David Kinley dedicates the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Building (now commonly referred to as the “Main Library”) on October 18, 1929.
1935: The one-millionth volume is acquired. During this period of intense acquisition, the Library amasses the beginnings of its extremely strong collections in classics, architecture, chemistry, mathematics, history, Milton, and Shakespeare.
1940: Carl M.
1943: Robert B. Robert B. Downs becomes library dean. By the end of his tenure in 1971, he has acquired 120 of the Library’s 177 special research collections, and the Library has become the third-largest in the nation.
1966: Groundbreaking of the new Undergraduate Library on September 21.
1969: Dedication of the Undergraduate Library on November 15.
1971: Lucien W. Lucien W. White is named University Librarian (1971-1975). Library and Library School are separated.
1976: Hugh C. Hugh C. Atkinson arrives as university librarian. Facing a filing backlog of nearly a million catalog cards, Atkinson steers the Library into the world of automation.
1978: The Library becomes the first major research library in the country to have an online catalog.
1986: Atkinson also fulfills his vision of a statewide, computer-linked library network.
1987: David F.
1992: The Library begins to create networked databases, including multimedia databases, that will become accessible both locally and internationally via the Internet.
1994: The Grainger Engineering Library Information Center opens in March 1994.
1999: Paula T. Kaufman becomes University Librarian.
2013: John P. The University Library welcomes its fifteenth Dean of Libraries, John P. Wilkin (2013-2017).
2022: The Undergraduate Library permanently closes in May.

University Librarians Through the Years

1869-1871: Henry M.
1893-1894: Charles M.
1894-1897: Percy F.
1907-1909: Acting, Francis K.W.
1909-1940: Phineas L.
1940-1943: Carl M.
1943-1971: Robert B.
1976-1986: Hugh C.
1987-1992: David F.
1999-2013: Paula T.
2013-2017: John P.
2018-2022: John P.

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