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The History of the Library at Duquesne University: The Beginning

Explore the library's history at Duquesne University. Here you'll learn about its beginnings in Old Main, the various buildings it has occupied over the years, and how the library came to be in its current building.

Duquesne University

Duquesne University was established in 1878 as the Pittsburgh Catholic College by Rev. Joseph Strub and the Congregation of the Holy Ghost.  Classes were held in a building on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District (Image 1).  In 1885 the Spiritans constructed what is known today as "Old Main" and the school officially moved to its current location on the Bluff.  In the early 1900s, the University steadily grew. The Business School, School of Social Services and the School of Pharmacy are a few of the programs that began around this time. 
To read more about the University's history, check out a timeline here.
Image 1: The building on Wylie Ave where Duquesne University started.

Sources

The Library

From 1878-1927, there was no central library building for Duquesne University. Once the school established itself on the Bluff, a general collection was held in Old Main.  Additionally, smaller, specific collections were held by each department. 
This changed in 1927 when Duquesne University converted an apartment building on Vickroy Street (Today's Academic Walk), into the Library and Music building. This building was across the street from Canevin Hall, where the Pharmacy building is today (Image 2).  In 1928, Duquesne University hired its first full-time professional library staff.

Image 2: This is an image of Vickroy Street, looking southwest.  The large building in the background is Old Main.  It should be noted that this image was taken in the 1950s/1960s, however, the blue arrow is pointing to the building that was the library in the 1920s and 1930s.