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The History of the Library at Duquesne University: The 1930s

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

Father Callahan was named University President in 1931 and continued to foster the growth of the University through the 1930s.  In the first two years of his tenure, he added 50 courses to the curriculum.  He also oversaw the acquisition of several buildings, including the Fitzsimmons Building downtown (home of the Law School until 1958) and additional private residences that functioned as dormitories.
In order to serve the community during the Great Depression, Father Callahan "established a free school for the unemployed and started the School of Nursing."  The folk-dance group affiliated with Duquesne University, the Tamburitzans, started in 1937 with three musicians (Image 3). 

Image 3: The Duquesne Tamburitzans. 

Sources

  • The Duquesne University Archives.
  • Dudes, John (1961). Review of DU's First Eighty Three Years. The Duquesne Duke. September 1961, 3. 
  • Rishel, J. F. (1997). The Spirit that Gives Life: The History of Duquesne University, 1878-1996. Duquesne University Press.
  • The Tamburitzans : About Us : Our Story

The Library

Up until 1930, Duquesne students could check out books from the Carnegie Library downtown.  However, in 1930, the Carnegie Library restricted Duquesne students' access to their book collections.  Losing access put pressure on Duquesne University to grow its own library collection. In response, Duquesne's librarian, M. Gertrude Blanchard, reached out to alumni and recent graduates for book donations. It was estimated that she was adding 2,000 books a year to the collection.
By the end of the decade, the library collection had outgrown the apartment building on Vickroy Street. A new library building was constructed and completed in 1939 (Images 4 and 5). This building was the University's only new construction during the Great Depression.  This library had seating for 161 students.  There were over 50,000 titles in the collection at the time. Duquesne University hired two additional librarians to help staff the new library.

Image 4: An image of Duquesne University's library building. It still exists today as part of the Law Library Building, with a different brick facade.

Image 5: The interior of the library building in the 1950s.