Memorial Library celebrates 50 years with variety of events

By Katie Gilbert
Library Communications

When patrons entered Memorial Library Sept. 17, they were greeted with flowers, a large banner and free cake. They also entered the building without requiring photo identification and could join a library tour. It certainly was not a typical day at Memorial Library but then again, celebrating a 50th anniversary is not an ordinary event.

On Sept. 17, 1953, Memorial Library finally opened for service after a quest for a research library that took more than 25 years. Fifty years later, the library is the state's largest, with nine stories and 3.5 million volumes.

To celebrate, Memorial Library staff dressed up the library lobby with a commemorative banner, an exhibit produced by University Archivist David Null celebrating the library's history and flowers on the front desk. Carol Stier (Central Technical Services) and Marianne Larson (Circulation) donated flowers from their gardens throughout the summer and presented multiple bouquets for the anniversary.

Null's exhibit showcased Memorial's history with documents, photographs, diagrams of various building plans and a display of events in the nation and around the world from the same time period. The exhibit will run in the library until early November and Special Collections will host a similar exhibit titled Highlights in the History of the UW-Madison Libraries from November to March.

The celebration continued inside the building, with tours of the building and free cake and bookmarks. Library staff conducted four tours throughout the day, taking guests around the building, including to CTS.

In the west corridor, library staff members took shifts serving several 50th anniversary cakes from Lane's Bakery. Next to the cake was a complimentary bookmark featuring an image from the 1950s on the front and facts about Memorial Library on the back.

To highlight the day, UW-Madison Libraries Director Kenneth Frazier presented a speech in 4:30 p.m. titled "Remembering Our Past & Envisioning Our Future: Memorial Library at Fifty." Approximately 150 people attended the lecture, held in L160 Elvehjem Museum of Art. William B. Reeder, president of the Friends, introduced Frazier, highlighting his work on College Library's Open Book Café and the 24-hour library. The hour-long speech was followed by a reception in the Elvehjem, which drew approximately 50 people.

[ Return to TOP ] [ Return to newsletter ]

[ Read about Frazier's speech ]

[ See photos from the reception ]