U. Grant Miller Library

U. Grant Miller Library is the academic library for Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pennsylvania. With its origins tracing back to a donation from Benjamin Franklin in 1789, the collection currently hold 210,000 volumes. The Archives and Special Collections contain significant holdings of historical papers dating to the College's founding. The Walker Room contains the personal library of prominent industrialist John Walker, complete with all of his library's fixtures and furniture, installed exactly how it had been during Walker's life.

U. Grant Miller Library
U. Grant Miller Library
TypeAcademic library
LocationWashington, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°10′11″N 80°14′25″W
Collection
Items collectedprint, digital, video, and microform
Size210,000
Access and use
Population servedWashington & Jefferson College
Websitehttp://libguides.washjeff.edu/home
Map

History

In 1789, a £50 gift from Benjamin Franklin formed the nucleus of the library at Washington College.[1][2][3][4] The library has identified five books in the collection from this original purchase.[5] After the unification of Washington College and Jefferson College, the combined library was located in Thompson Memorial Hall and moved to the current building in 1965.[3] The first unified library on campus was the Thompson Library, which is currently known as Thompson Hall.[6] The modern-day Miller Library collection has an open collection of 210,000 volumes, 500 periodical titles, over 17,000 Electronic journals, 9,500 of which are full text and integrated into the electronic library catalog.[7] The audio collection has 4,000 LP records and 300 CDs.[7][8]

In the mid-1850s, the Washington College YMCA branch held 300 volumes in its library collection.[9]

Archives and special collections

When Pittsburgh iron and steel industrialist John Walker died in 1932, the Walker family donated his private library to the College.[10] His entire library was installed in the library exactly as it had been—including an extensive collection of books, bookcases, pictures, furniture, chandeliers, and stained-glass lamps.[7] It had been originally installed in the Thompson Library, but moved to its current location in 1965.[6]

The Patterson Collection includes a broad array of approximately 500 old and rare books dating from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. This circulating collection was donated in 1929 by the estate of Thomas Hamilton Hoge Patterson of Philadelphia, a real estate developer during the early 20th century and the son of Joseph Patterson, founder of the Western Theological Seminary.[11]

The library maintains the Archives & Special Collections Library, a repository for primary documents relating to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century U.S. history, with a special emphasis on Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Underground Railroad and the Whiskey Rebellion.[7] The Learned T. Bulman '48 Historic Archives & Museum holds rare books, manuscripts, and archival materials relating to the college's history.[12] It was named for a W&J alum in honor of a $1 million gift.[13] With the CONTENTdm data management interface, many of these materials are available through the U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives, a multimedia collection of historical material from college's history, spanning the history of the log colleges, Washington College, Jefferson College, and Washington & Jefferson College.[14]

References
  1. Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite (1956). Banners in the Wilderness: The Early Years of Washington and Jefferson College. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 31. OCLC 2191890. Retrieved 2011-08-25. During the early period, in 1789, Benjamin Franklin sent a personal gift of fifty pounds for the purchase of books, to form the beginning of a school library
  2. Keenan, Rebecca (Spring 2008). "W&J Builds on the Legacy of Early Investors" (PDF). W&J Magazine. Washington, Pennsylvania: Washington & Jefferson College. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  3. Funk, Harry (June 18, 2006). "Steeped in History" (PDF). Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  4. Haring-Smith, Tori (September 1, 2008). "2008 Convocation Address". Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  5. Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite (1956). Banners in the Wilderness: The Early Years of Washington and Jefferson College. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 32. OCLC 2191890. Retrieved 2011-08-25. In the historical collections at W. and J. are five which Director Ewing has identified as part of the purchase made with Franklin's original gift.
  6. "Thompson Hall". Historic Campus Architecture Project. Council of Independent Colleges. 2010-05-16. Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  7. "W&J: Library FAQ". About the Library. Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  8. "W&J: Library Overview". Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  9. Rhees, William Jones (1859). "List of Libraries, Washington, Pennsylvania". Manual of public libraries, institutions and societies in the United States and British provinces of North America. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Company. p. 637.
  10. "W&J: Walker Room Collection". Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  11. "Patterson Collection". Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  12. "Learned T. Bulman '48 Historic Archives & Museum". Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  13. "New Historic Archives and Museum in U. Grant Miller Library Named". W&J Messenger. Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  14. "U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives". Washington & Jefferson College. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
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