The Homer D. Babbidge Library (HBL) is the main library on the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

campus in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs ( ) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, ...

History

In December 1962

President Homer D. Babbidge Jr. went before the Connecticut Legislature to advocate for a stronger research-oriented institution in Storrs. When compared to its peers, UConn spent less on

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periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

s, collections development, and had an overall smaller inventory of books. UConn spent $30 per student on the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

at a time when its peers were spending close to $70. Only ten years later, near the end of his term, the university's library passed the one million volume mark, joining only 58 other American Universities (out of 2,200 total) that had a collection of 1 million or more volumes. Prior to Babbidge being built, the Wilbur Cross Library housed the university's books and volumes. That building has now been turned into the Wilbur Cross Building, which houses various administrative offices. Regarding the naming of the university's new library, Bruce M. Stave writes that "Homer Daniels Babbidge, Jr., died of

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at age 58 in March 1984. Shortly after his death, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, in a memorial tribute, named the university's new library, which stands central to the campus, in his honor." While under construction, the new main library had been named the

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an Military intelligence, intelligence ...

Library at the urging of trustees appointed by Gov. Thomas Meskill, whose UConn budget cuts earlier prompted Babbidge to retire and run for governor against him.Zaiman, Jack. "The Babbidge Doctrine: A 'Popular' Nominee," The Hartford Courant. (Dec 2, 1973), p. 35.

Notable staff

* Richard Bleiler (1959–), collections and humanities librarian since 1994; science fiction bibliographer and

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

nominee. * John P. McDonald (1922–1993), library director from 1963 to 1986; executive director of the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research library at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research li ...

(1974–76). * Janice Merrill-Oldham (1947–2011), head of the library's preservation department from 1983 to 1995 and preeminent book conservator. * Norman D. Stevens (1932–2018), university librarian from 1974 to 1986 and library director from 1986 to 1994; collector of librariana. * Edwina Whitney (1868–1970), UConn's first professional librarian, serving from 1900 to 1934.

References

Brutalist architecture in Connecticut University and college academic libraries in Connecticut University of Connecticut buildings and structures Libraries in Tolland County, Connecticut Federal depository libraries 1978 establishments in Connecticut Library buildings completed in 1978 {{library-stub