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McDaniel College Hoover Library Records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: RG3-07-001

Scope and Contents

This collection contains records produced by the library at Western Maryland College/McDaniel College from 1900 through the present. It is arranged into six series. Series one covers materials related to the library’s operations, including departmental meeting minutes, annual reports, policies and procedures, memos and correspondence, budget and financial information, data management procedures, reaccreditation documentation, and library history. Series two pertains to the library building and contains records related to the major construction and renovation projects in 1960-1962, 1989-1991, and 2012-2013. This series also includes information about the artwork and plaques in the library, including the Elmes murals and stained glass. Series three covers documentation related to staffing and personnel in the library, both professionals and student workers. Series four contains information related to the library’s collections such as accession books and discipline-specific collection materials. Series five includes materials related to outreach and events hosted by the library. This series contains newsletters produced by and about the college library as well as flyers, programs, and newspaper clippings related to library events. The final series consists of photographs and artifacts pertaining to the library. The photographs span the years 1908-2012 but are concentrated on the 1989-1991 renovation process. Series six also includes a small assortment of artifacts related to the library, most notably a collection of Confederate script given to the library by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the early twentieth century.

Dates

  • 1900-
  • Other: Majority of material found in 1927-2013

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Departmental records are closed for thirty years after the date of creation.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright:  McDaniel College may hold copyright to sections of this material. McDaniel College makes no representation that it is the owner of any copyright or other literary property in the materials contained in its archives, manuscript collections, and special collections unless specifically stated, (b) that in providing access to or permitting the reproduction of any such materials, McDaniel Archives does not assume any responsibility for obtaining or granting any permission to publish or use the same, and (c) that the responsibility (i) for determining the nature of any rights, and the ownership or interest therein, and for obtaining the appropriate permissions to publish or use and (ii) for determining the nature of any liabilities (including liabilities for defamation and invasion of privacy or publicity) that may arise from any publication or use, rest entirely with the researcher.  Copying:  Papers may be copied in accordance with the Archives' usual procedures.

Biographical or Historical Information

McDaniel College's first library after its founding in 1868 was College President James T. Ward's private library.  Students also had the use of the library of their professors and the libraries of the literary societies on campus to which they belonged. The College advertised this in the first catalogs – “students will have access to libraries comprising 2,500 volumes.”  Ward’s library accounted for more than two thirds of the volumes. On campus was a small reading room containing newspapers, periodicals, magazines, and current literature with “free access to students under regulation of the (Literary) Society.” The Faculty, including Ward, knew more was needed and in 1872 authorized a Reading Room Committee to form an association charged with seeking donations for a reading room.  In March of 1874 the faculty again took up the cause of a college library when it resolved “A well-selected and arranged library is indispensable to a literary institution. . .”   and appointed a Library Committee to secure such a collection.  The head of the committee was to be the librarian and was to report to the faculty the progress of the library.  The first annual report of the librarian was recorded June 15, 1874 in the Faculty minutes. By 1879 over 4,000 volumes were available to the college’s students from the libraries of Ward and other professors– but the college’s library languished until 1886 when, through the influence of Maryland Congressman Shaw, the college was made the general repository of government documents. The October 1887 Western Maryland College Monthly reported “The Western half of the second story of the main building has served many purposes . . .  It is now a library and museum.  The last change is the best of all and has the prospect of permanence.”    With the addition of Herring Hall in 1890 to the main building, a room of over 2,600 sq. ft. on the second floor with stacks against the wall and a reading area was provided for the library. The library grew in volumes.  When Ward died in 1897 he willed over half his library to the college which added over 3,000 volumes.  With the growth of library holdings and students' need for extended hours, the college hired the first professional librarian, Lillian Hopkins 1898. By 1906 College President Thomas H. Lewis was before the Board of Trustees presenting an argument for a new library.  In the twenty years of his tenure, the college increased from eight to fourteen acres, four halls were added to the main building, and five new buildings were erected  -- a new library too was necessary for the expanding college. The Library and Administration Building, designed by Baltimore Architect Jackson Gott and opened in 1909, served several purposes.  On the main floor was an office for the college treasurer, a boardroom, two offices for the president, and a museum. The basement had rooms for the four literary societies. The second floor contained the library with a large reading room adjoined by a stack room with a mezzanine for more stacks, space for over 25,000 volumes. The library continued to build collections and change.  When the building was completed in 1909 students no longer learned by recitation; reading, discussion, and discovery were part of new teaching methods, and more books on more subjects were needed to keep up with their classes.  By student demand library books were circulated and evening hours were scheduled.  Clara Lewis, librarian from 1910-1919, sorted and cataloged the library collection according to the Dewey Decimal system.  Assistants aided the librarian in 1920 and by 1935 there were two librarians with assistants.  In 1927 the library began statistical reports to the American Library Association, annual reports to the College President by 1936, and in 1937 The Library Committee became a standing committee of the Faculty.  The president’s offices, the boardroom, and the treasurer’s office were reassigned to other buildings, literary societies now defunct no longer used the basement, the building was refitted in 1939 to be the library. Eleven years later the library was bursting at its seams.  That year College Trustee Walter H. Davis bequeathed $257,000 toward a new college library. It took a decade but ground was broken next to Baker Memorial Chapel for the new library in April of 1961.   The building was dedicated December, 1962.  L. Quincy Mumford, librarian of congress, spoke. It was in 1975 that the college library was first named, dedicated to Dr. Samuel and Elsie Hoover.  Dr. Hoover was on the Board of Trustees and benefactor to the college. A new president, Dr. Chambers, stood before the Board at its annual meeting in April 1985 and requested a larger library. The Board acceded and on October 13, 1991 the dedication of the new Hoover Library was celebrated.  This library, a renovation and expansion of Hoover Library, was double the capacity holding over 300,000 volumes.  It was designed by the Hillier Group, built by Henry Lewis Company, and on the front cover of the Library Journal December 1992 architectural issue.  It had comfortable study rooms, lounge chairs, and study carols throughout the five floors of the building.  Card catalogs had been replaced by computers and there were computer stations for students to work from.  The staff of the library included five librarians, including the Library Director, eight staff, and many student workers. Today the physical building appears very similar to when it was dedicated but the library is a very different place.  Wi-Fi has been added so students can use their laptops anywhere in Hoover Library.  Two study rooms have computers with large flat screens so students can work as groups on a project.  The area that once held indices, now available as databases, was refitted as an Information Commons with more computers and modules students can configure as work stations to their needs.  Students can access the catalog and many periodicals and databases from their laptops wherever they are.

Note written by Barbara O'Brien

Extent

14.1875 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection contains the records produced by the library at Western Maryland College/McDaniel College.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged into six series: library operations, library building, staff and personnel, library collections, events and outreach, and photographs and artifacts. Within each series, materials are arranged topically and chronologically as appropriate.

Box List

Box 1
  • Library Committee Meeting Minutes, 1936-1972


Box 2
  • Library Committee, 1972-1981
  • Staff Meeting Minutes, 1985-2018
  • Annual Reports, 1935-1959


Box 3
  • Annual Reports, 1959-2024


Box 4
  • Library Statistical Reports for Instutions of Higher Education
  • Long Range Planning, 1973-1984
  • Strategic Planning, 2009-2022
  • Annual Goals, 2008-2019
  • Annual Retreats, 2009-2013
  • Misc. Planning Documents
  • Mission Statements


Box 5
  • Library Surveys, 1952 & 1983


Box 6
  • Library Surveys, 2007-2014
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Patron Counts
  • Library Incidence Report
  • Library Correspondence
  • Library Memos
  • Library Gift Letters, A-D


Box 7
  • Library Gift Letters, C-Z
  • Library Budget Information, 1966-1968; 2007-2008


Box 8
  • Library Grant Proposals
  • Middle States Evaluation
  • Library History
  • Library Building Interior & Fundraising, 1962


Box 9
  • Building Documents, 1960s
  • Building Documents, 1975-1987


Box 10
  • Building Renovation Documents, 1987-1991


Box 11
  • Data Management Documents


Box 12
  • Building Renovation Documents, 1986-1991


Box 13
  • Building Renovation Documents, 1988-1992


Box 14
  • Building Renovation Documents, 1990-1994
  • Archives Reading Room, 2007
  • Information Literacy Hub Renovation, 2007-2008
  • Library Renovation Documents, 2010-2011


Box 14
  • Building Renovation Documents, 1990-1994
  • Archives Reading Room, 2007
  • Information Literacy Hub Renovation, 2007-2008
  • Library Renovation Documents, 2010-2011


Box 15
  • Building Renovation Documents, 2012-2013


Box 16
  • Building Renovation Documents, 2013
  • Library Plaques
  • Stained Glass Window Correspondence
  • Ellen Elmes Mural Correspondence


Box 17
  • Library Artwork
  • Staff & Personnel Documents
  • Library Collections Information
  • Library Newsletters, 1970-March 1972


Box 18, Banker Box
  • Library Accession Ledgers
  • Spec Books, 2012 Renovation
  • Spec Books, 1989 Renovation


Box 20, Legal-Sized
  • Library Patron Count, 1932
  • Library Costs & Fact Sheet, 1962
  • Library Budget & Reports, 1924-1942
  • Circulation Statistics, 1953
  • Library Newsletters, 1952-1960
  • Library Newsletters, 1996-1997


Box 21, Photographs
  • Architectural Drawings of Proposed Library, 1962
  • Library & Administration Building (Peterson), Exterior
  • Library & Administration Building (Peterson), Interior
  • Book Move, May 1962
  • Hoover Library (Pre-1989), Exterior
  • Hoover Library (Pre-1989), Interior
  • Dr. Samuel & Elsie Hoover with Dr. Chambers, 1988
  • Library Renovation Groundbreak, 1989
  • Hoover Library, Photograph Scans
  • Hoover Library, Interior, Pre-Renovation, 2012
  • Hoover Library Renovation Slides, 1989-1991


Box 22, Photographs
  • Site Book, New Library
  • Library Construction, Interior & Exterior, 1990-1991
  • Library Opening Interior, 1991
  • Richwine Room Dedication


Box 23, Photographs
  • Library Construction, 1989-1991
  • Ellen Elmes Mural
  • Stained Glass in Hoover Library
  • Library Move
  • Palijczuk Sculpture Installation


Box 24, Oversized Materials
  • Architectural Plans, 1960 & 2012
  • Oversized Flyers, Posters & Photographs
  • Ellen Elmes Mural
  • Users Report for Library Costs & Services


Box 25
  • Artifacts

Source of Acquisition

Hoover Library

Method of Acquisition

Record transfer

Accruals and Additions

Accession books - 2008

Other Descriptive Information

Materials placed in the Archives included the Curriculum  Vitae of candidates for the position.  All vitae except the candidate who was hired for the position have been removed.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
"McDaniel College Hoover Library Records"
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2025-07-22: Collection reprocessed in the summer of 2025 by Gwenlyn Coddington.

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the McDaniel College Repository

Contact:

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