The Robert H. Goddard Library is the primary library of

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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. The library was named after rocketeer

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully lau ...

, who earned a M.A. and Ph.D. at Clark in the 1910s. The building was built in 1969 and remodeled in 2009. The brick and concrete building was designed by architect John M. Johansen in the Brutalist style.

Dedication

Two months before the opening of the library, Willard Rockwell's Rockwell Foundation gave 75,000 dollars towards the establishment of a periodical room in the library. On May 19, 1969, United States Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

opened the Goddard Library in which he called for the shifting of resources used in

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

exploration to "pressing problems here at home". Also in attendance at the dedication were John Leland Atwood, president of

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avioni ...

; library architect John M. Johansen; astronaut

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

; and Goddard's widow Esther Goddard. Aldrin was honored with an honorary degree at the dedication ceremony. Fifty years later, on March 13, 2019, Clark University commemorated the anniversary of the building's opening, and paid tribute to namesake

, with an evening of lectures by Clark administrators and distinguished guests.

Academic Commons at Goddard Library

The Academic Commons at Goddard Library is a study space opened in January 2009 as part of the building's renovations. It includes Clark's primary computer lab, a cafe and study space. The library also houses the ITS Help Desk, which aids the student body, as well as faculty and staff, on the first floor in the Academic Commons.

Collections and features

The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Collection and the Robert Goddard Exhibition Room are housed in the Archives and Special Collections area of the library. Outside the library lies a structure depicting the flight path of Goddard's first liquid fuel rocket. In 2008, the library digitized Goddard's collection through a 40,000 dollar grant from the federal

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...

.Goddard materials now online
November 26, 2008, Worcester Telegram and Gazette

References

External links

Goddard Library
Official Site {{authority control Clark University Libraries in Worcester, Massachusetts Library buildings completed in 1969 University and college academic libraries in Massachusetts Modernist architecture in Massachusetts Brutalist architecture in Massachusetts University and college buildings completed in 1969 1969 establishments in Massachusetts Libraries established in 1969