Author: jjenson

FOLKE 2 (1972-Present) The current Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library opened in September 1972.  Princess Christina of Sweden participated in the dedication ceremonies on 25 October.  The new building was designed to house 309,000 volumes, with an increased emphasis on audio-visual media.  A computer terminal, five microfilm readers, three microfiche readers, and microfilm printout machine were…

FOLKE 1 (1948-1972)The new library opened in September 1948. The majority of library services were provided on the main floor, with plate-glass partitions separating the lobby from the reading rooms. The stacks area adjoined the main reading room with space for 100,000 volumes. Students were admitted to the stacks by applying at the desk for…

READING HALL (1942-1948) In 1942, the former President’s House was remodeled to contain a leisure reading room, offices, and the college post office.  The reading room was intended primarily for freshmen and sophomores, though juniors and seniors could also use the space.  The Almen-Vickner collection was contained in the Reading Hall. Please send us your…

ANNEX IN UHLER HALL (1931-1948) A storage room in the basement of Uhler Hall was used as extra storage for the library. This area was known as the Library Annex. Please send us your library memories: https://gustavus.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eP4PoCsANFwEPTo

LIBRARY BUILDING (1920-1948) The library moved to the top floor of Commerce Hall during summer 1920. Within two years, the School of Commerce had closed, and what was Commerce Hall, became known as the Library Building. The Library Building housed the library upstairs and classrooms downstairs. By 1926, the library consisted of approximately 16,500 volumes…

OLD MAIN (1897-1920) In celebration of 50 years in the current library building (known as the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library), we’ll be spending the year looking at the history of the library at Gustavus. In 1897 the library moved back into Old Main, housed on the second floor.  Branch libraries continued to exist in both…

COMMERCE BUILDING (1889-1897) In 1889, the library moved out of the Main building and into the Commerce Building. During this time the librarian was J.S. Carlson, professor of history, philosophy, and political science. He secured some of the annual publications of Uppsala University in Sweden, and he and his assistants commenced work on a subject…

OLD MAIN (1876-1889) The Main building was the first building built when Gustavus moved to St. Peter in 1876. It housed everything, including classrooms, offices, living quarters, and the library. In the beginning the library consisted of approximately 500 volumes and additional donations were actively being sought. By 1887, the library held 3,100 volumes. The…

ST. ANSGAR’S ACADEMY (1863-1876) The school Norelius founded moved to East Union in Carver County, Minnesota in 1863. Andrew Jackson became the head of the school, as well as the faculty, registrar, treasurer, and librarian. There were two major additions to the library during this time. The Minnesota Lutheran Conference authorized Jackson to travel to…