Olin Library At Cornell University

Olin Library is the largest library in the Cornell University Library system, featuring a collection of nearly 2,000,000 print volumes, 2,000,000 microforms, and 650,000 maps. It is located on the southern side of the Arts Quad, directly adjacent to Uris Library and McGraw Tower. It is named for Cornell alumnus and trustee John M. Olin who donated $3 million in 1957 in order to build a new research library on campus.

History

20th century

By the 1950s, Cornell's main University Library (now called Uris Library) could no longer accommodate the university's collections, with books being stored in the adjacent clocktower, McGraw Tower. Plans were initiated for a library to be built, and at the cost of $5.7 million Olin Library became one of the first libraries specifically designed as a research facility.

Olin Library was built on the site of Boardman Hall, which was torn down in 1958-9. Charles H. Warner of Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde designed the building as a massive seven story edifice, with open research spaces on the first floor and private work areas and cavernous stacks on the upper floors. Stone pillars and retaining walls flank the exterior of the first floor. The library opened in 1961.

In 1992, the Carl A. Kroch Library opened as an underground extension to Olin Library. It is a climate controlled, secure facility, containing the Asian collections and the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections of the Cornell University Library system.

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Cornell University buildings