To fully understand the development of our Special Collections, we need to explore briefly the growth of the first library, housed in Memorial Hall on the old campus. Significant donations, such as the personal library of President Jeremiah Chaplin and the libraries of the college’s early literary fraternities, were complemented by smaller contributions, purchases and the stewardship of librarians, notably Edward Hall.
Once attention to the library’s rare and valuable volumes commenced around 1930, the nucleus of our Special Collections was defined.