From Conventional to Commons : A History of the UW – Madison Chemistry Library
By Ariel Andrea , Chemistry Instruction and Reference Librarian
One of the oldest continually running libraries on campus , the
Chemistry Library , has been relocated or remodeled at least four times and has seen countless staffing changes . Space and staff have always been at the crux of every challenge faced by this library as it grew and changed to best serve the department . In spite of these changes , it always remained a traditional library with brimming book stacks and familiar library services . However , as the 2016 fall semester came to a close , so too did the UW – Madison Chemistry Library . When it re-opens in 2019 as the Chemistry Information Commons , it will have undergone its first true transformation in approximately 120 years .
The first library at UW – Madison was created in 1850 , shortly after the first classes were held in 1849 . Chemistry came to campus in 1854 with courses led by John Lathrop , and eventually a Department of Chemistry was formalized in 1880 . A departmental library for chemistry would not be seen , however , until 1905 . Its creation was spurred by two converging events : the appointment of Louis Kahlenberg to the chemistry faculty in 1895 and the dire need for additional lab and classroom spaces . After completing his B . S . and M . S . at Wisconsin , Kahlenberg left to pursue a Ph . D . in Leipzig , Germany . During this time , the department was becoming increasingly overcrowded , and eventually the state appropriated funds for a new building solely for chemistry .
Kahlenberg was heavily involved in the planning of this building . This was the first time there would be space in the department where chemical literature was “ systematically available to students ” ( Ihde , p . 258 ). The building quickly became overcrowded and eventually multiple additions were planned . In 1929 , a new and expanded library space was included on the second floor of the East Addition . The library would remain in this location until 1967 .
10 | LIBRARIES Summer 2017