Roanoke College - Rawenoch Yearbook (Salem, VA)

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... I ,. . ,gf 8 K 13 'i '-.51 f Q :hw '21 1 ' . f' . . -T.- ' D ' 1:5 E-gli b . g'5,,. -4 IZEY-Xl? VIEW OE LIBRARY AND OLD COLLEGE BUILDINGS.

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il R .,,,i1iHr correct LIBL ZXIQY. V i,i,i.- 5 . ,, . I-IEHgrowth of the Library liasfrbeenino less1'fre1na.rkable than that of f the-College., lt has loneihundred and forty vol- umes to twenty-two thousand. ' only a few shelves in what was formerly ,Dix Fox'sjMlg,fitL1'rE7.rQ,Q1ji,l,in old main building, 'ggpday iitwfjlls thegbeaiitiful Bz'f44g.,Me71zq?fz'a! 'f building. The accumulation .of boczks-, throughout these fifty-one years, has been going on steadily, until today Roanoke has the best Library of any college in the South, and is surpassed only by a few univer- sities. The aim of the' hrst president, Dr. Bittle, was to collect at Roanoke the largest Library and museum in the Southern States, and during his presidency of twenty-three years, he kept this one idea prominent in his mind. He took advantage of every opportunity to increase the Library, attending auctions in the large cities, denying him- self comforts, and often buying on credit, and afterwards soliciting money from friends to defray the expenses. lt was through his untir- ing energy and zeal that a great many books were presented to the Library, by friends of the College. h The hrst gift of any importance was the old Church library of the Lutheran congregation at Madison Court House. lt consisted of four hundred German and Latin books, which may be seen today in the main part of the Library. ln 1855 the Library had become so large that it required a separate room, and was moved into the one which was afterwards the Young Mens Christian Association Hall, that organization not being in existence at that time. XVhile located here a number of important additions were made. The most notable of these was a collection of I,OOO scientific works, purchased in 1856 from Rev. Henry S. Osborne, professor of Natural Science. Another worthy of mention was a col- lection of 3,ooo-volumes, the Schmucker library purchased in 1875. The Library was increasing so rapidly that it was now evident to all that a separate building was needed for it. In 1875, a building fund was started to which not only the citizens of the surrounding county, but also many Northern friends of the College subscribed. On the death of Dr. Bittle in 1876, the name, Bittle Memorial Hall, was given to the new library building, which was opened on the same day that Dr. Dreher was inaugurated president. October 17, 1879. lt seems especially appropriate that these two events should have taken place at the same time. This Memorial Hall, dedicated to the nrst president, is a lasting testimony to the enterprise and energy of Dr.

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Drpher who Spent twenty-Eve of the most useful years of his life to make Roanoke College what it is today. There were many valuable works received as memorial offer- ings, among which might be mentioned, bound volumes of the New York Dzzzb 79'Z.bJL7ZL' and the Draw' fieraffl during the Civil VVar period. These are probably the only bound volumes of these papers in any Southern College. i ' l 4 The hrst addition of any importance to the Library in its new ction which Dr. Bittle made, consisting of 3,000 volumes, one of which was VValton's P0Qgg'!0! Bfbfe, now regarded as a work of great value. There was a committee, of which Dr. Yonce was chairman, to secure funds for this purchase. This collection consisted quarters was a colle principally of theological and historical works. It was mainly through Dr. Dreher's efforts that the Annex was built to the main building. The library building is a brick structure covered with slate. It Q5 feet long and 72 feet wide through the wings of the Annex. This Annex is used for a reference library and reading room and is open all the forenoon of each day in the week, except Sunday. This reading room is becoming more and more pop- ular every year, and is daily filled with students. There is to be found here forty of the leading mon thlies: as the ffIllc?7'Z.f!77Z Rczfieru gf Iewzkfws, Nazftk Azzzeffzkmz, W01f!d'.r lfV01'k, fllzuzscy, Iyvzzzk Lcsfzk, etc., several weekliesg as Lzfcrffzfjf Dzlgzzvf, Ozzilfmk, ffzrfrybcfzzzfwzf, etc.g about eighty daily and weekly papers, secular, religious, literary, educational, scien- tihc, and humorous. The Annex also contains the chief encyclopedias-I5'1'1'!z'1zm'm, Affzcfdczzzz, Azzfzmzl, Pcfyifelv, Ckfizzzbcrfv, and a number of others. Here are found the latest editions of such dictionaries as, the Cwzfmjq Siafzzifzrfzi, W2'6szfezf'5, Hf01'fes!e1 .r, also classical lexicons, of Greek and Roman antiquities, of scientific and commercial terms. Here are to be found two thousand bound volumes of magazines and reviews, includ- ing all the magazines up to this last year. There are four volumes of Poole's fzzriex to P67'Z.0Kfl.flZ! .Z,I.fl'7'l?fZZ7'c' which makes these magazines easily accessible to the use of the student, in addition to these there is an fzzdex fo Gezzenzf Lz'z'e1'zzz'm'c' and one to f1I1!C'7'I'fl7ll H1kf0lj'. There is to be found here, XVarner's .L1'dI'lI7ll' nf Mc IfV07'fl?flS Best Lz'z'e1'zzz'm'c, in thirty volumes, C5zz'zw'.rfz! C!a.fy1'r.v Lfbrafjf, in thirty volumes, Stedman and I-Iutchinson's Lz'61'a111' of ffll!U7'I'l'll7l Z.I.Ild'l'lZfI!l'U, in twelve volumes, Lz'!w'az!zWe ryffl!! A'Qzf1'011.v, in ten volumes, The NaZz'01zaZ Qfrlopeffzrc cy' AllZ67'liftZ7Z f?1'qg1'fzjShj', a fifzlvfwjf fu- 13511051 Ieqkffefzce mm' Topica! RCHIf7.7Z'Q', and two hundred volumes-of biogra- phy, including the Azizefifazz and E7ZS fI.Vf1 flifwz QfLf1'!c1'.v series. T There are a number of rare books in the main library, among which is a Latin Bible printed at Nuremburg. Germanv, fifteen years