Mckeldin Librarys development over decades

Arielle Dukofsky April 9, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md. At the heart of the University of Maryland campus, Mckeldin Library
is constantly evolving to provide students and faculty with the most up-to-date resources in an
atmosphere tailored to accommodate all of its students.

While Mckeldin Library is currently the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. area, it
was not the first library built on campus. Up until 1958, the year Mckeldin Library was built, the
Shoemaker building served as the campus main library.

The [universitys] collections had outgrown Shoemaker Library, which is a relatively small
building for the number of students it had to serve, said current University Archivist Anne
Turkos.

According to student and library authorities of the time, a library building should provide study
facilities for 25% of the student population.

At present [Shoemaker Library] and the library annex seat only 512 students or less than 6% of
the student body, said one student in their 1954 essay entitled Justification for the New Library
Building.

Although the idea of a new library had been long awaited by the community, it wasn't until Dr.
Wilson Elkins, former UMD president, that this vision became a reality.

Elkins emphasizes the importance of providing a good education despite the variety in the
student body, as stated in a section in UMDs 1958 yearbook.

Elkins put nearly $2.5 million of the universitys budget

into the librarys structure and $200,000 toward
furniture, special materials, and cutting-edge equipment
of the time.

According to the Mckeldin Library Dedication Program,

special materials and equipment purchased upon the
buildings opening included: an extensive picture file, a
microfilm room, a typing room, 10 listening booths, and
more than 500 phonograph recordings.
Construction of Mckeldin Library
(1958). Courtesy of UMD Archives

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While the installation of special materials and equipment signified the librarys opening, it did
not signify the librarys completion.

Our library is, of course, merely begun. The building is finished, but the building is only the
start, said Theodore R. Mckeldin in his speech at the librarys opening ceremony.

Although the buildings apparatus was innovative for the time, many of its special materials and
equipment eventually became obsolete. To keep up with technological advancements, the
building required extensive retrofitting over the course of decades following its original opening.

When McKeldin was built in the late 1950s, the university

administration certainly had no concept of the computer
revolution that was to come, so a lot of the infrastructure of the
original building was inadequate, said Turkos.

In the years following its opening, the library installed air

conditioning to help computers stay cool and operate properly,
electrical wiring to accommodate the usage of electronic devices,
Library workers spend and a digital database to increase the librarys overall efficiency.
winter break transferring
books to new library. To account for the rising dependence on technology in the
classroom, the library launched the Terrapin Technology Store in
2013. This tech store provides students and faculty with the ability
to purchase high-tech equipment such as laptops and software at a discounted price.

Despite the buildings perpetual changes, Mckeldin Library continues to maintain Elkins vision
to accommodate the varied interests and abilities of UMDs diverse student body.

Mckeldin Librarys current manifold layout gives each of it's

seven floors its own unique purpose. Each floor creates an
atmosphere that is specific to the needs of a group of learners.

I prefer to study on the second floors Terrapin Learning

Commons, said junior Ali Lieberman. When studying for an
exam, I need to talk things out in a group to retain the
material. Mckeldin Library exterior. Courtesy of

Launched in 2010, Terrapin Learning Commons serves as a

breeding ground for collaboration between students. This study space contains a variety of

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interactive elements such as whiteboards, monitors, and desktop computers to provide students
with an active learning environment.

While some students prefer this domain, many other students require one that is entirely
different.

Since I require dead silence, I get most of my studying done in the new reading room on the
fourth floor, said sophomore Anna Klein. I almost never have any issues while studying in
there because everyone in the room is there for the same reason.

Despite the technological advancements at Mckeldin Library since the 1950s, some things never
change. Sometimes all a person needs to study is peace and quiet.

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