College of Wooster - Index Yearbook (Wooster, OH)

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paths seemed to lead to the reading room. it was, in fact. the only place to go to pass a vacant period. All recita- tion rooms were in the one building and this was the only study room. Little wonder then that friends should drift together in a place where all the students met. Little wonder, either, that here should be formed friendships good and true. And that the Old Reading Room should be encircled with a halo of sacred memories. For so we find it, and to this the following extract, from a former INDEX, bears testimony. - You want to move the boolcs, do you, into a brand new building, And have it set off lonesome, too- With lots of paint and gilding? lk Ik lk lk lk l've spent a hundred happy hours, Engrossed in latest fiction, Developing my pedal powers Creating rasping friction. And l have filled a hundred dates With maidens near as many: l've shortened many lengthy waits ln matching Jack his penny. Once more l think l see a face With glasses elevated. He's looking through his prison placeg He seems some agitated. Ik Pk Dk lk lk Put up a building new go on And put Tea Kettle in it. But he'll be sacl the old room's gone Before he's out a minute. Page nine

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as they lay on the shelf, the current papers. Along another wall were a series of pigeon-holes which held the magazines. Across the floor were several rows of chairs screwed to the floor. ln front of each chair was a slant-topped desk on which to spread the book. The desk was not attached tothe floor but could be moved about. Just why there was this par- tiality in permanency of location of the furniture is not appar- ent.- mln the stack-room, as there were only three double- windows, it became so dark after three o'clock in the after- noon that it was necessary to light the lantern which hung on e e r a nail near the door. And when efrf -1'1 -r:- '--.r. P l . . . Q f' '-e.r.- 1 ettt ff' ' ,. 1 l ln search of a book the librarian 21i5sS t,i3,,f5q5fQgf'il' .i., F2 , , , was obliged to carry with him 1 af. V on :ristfjgstgunon a V . among the stacks, the lighted 1 I 1 'B1ifm2?tEHf5??g. . TE lantern. The tall wooden racks which held the books were partly responsible for the dimness of this room. These racks were so high that in order to reach the highest shelves it was necessary to climb a ladder. fllQ.And you ask was there a guide to linding the books. And we answer yes. Long before Poole's Index was published, the Wooster Library had a walking Index in the person of Dr. Davis, whose natural instincts as a librarian and book-lover made him ideally suited to such a library at such a time. These facilities, though simple, were, however, complete, and afforded, with a little less ease than at present, every opportunity to the diligent student to delve in the lore of the ages. fll.,This same library was an exceedingly convenient meeting place for lad and lassie. At the close of a recitation period, all Page eight

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And as for me, I love the oldg lts memory-scented tables. You couldn't tear it from my heart, Not with a thousand cables. flllaaclc of space prevents my narrating how in two hours the students in organized squads moved twenty thousand - volumes from the Old Building l into the New Building. But we -Q i 1 mf: ' -r 1 ' N, L K sf' if .4 Q 3. e s V 5 f ' S 1 1' Il -R Q 4 ll f 1 L M , Q ,E-L .zzz-.:,. . ms, 3, li -H -4- 9 fl : iam.: 1 ,., ,, , gg... 4 ' t f ,, Efe kfzm'-mfs: l U ' V i lmow that when the great con- -w, ., V i flagration swept away the Old University the boolcs were all aate L ,. in the new Library. Between V'st it' that time and this there have .4 ,.i.. -..W been added about ten thousand volumes, so that there are at present about thirty thousand volumes in the stacks. fllflihus we see that the University Library had its Genesis, experienced an Exodus, and is now resting securely in the Promised Land. Page ten