The Thomas Jefferson Library is the main library for the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Established in 1963, it is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System and its newest. Located on the former grounds of Bel ...

, the largest public university in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

History

In 1963 the Normandy Residence Center, a two-year junior college, officially became the institution now known as the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The original University library was located in a small section of what had previously been the clubhouse of Bellerive Country Club. It contained a meager 3,800 volumes under the stewardship of a single professional librarian. By 2005 the Libraries of the university housed more than one million volumes, including a

Federal Depository Library The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...

, a computerized Library Research Commons, and the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The Thomas Jefferson Library was one of the first of three new buildings constructed on the campus. It opened in 1968 under the leadership of its first Library Director, Susan Freegard. Within its 5 stories, the Library was designed to house more than 240,000 volumes and allow seating for 1,000 students. The original "TJ Library" entrance also sported a swimming pool and basketball court which have since been removed. By the 1980s the growing library collections began to displace staff and study areas. $6.1 million in funding was provided by the State of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...

, Emerson Electric, and

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

, each being local St. Louis corporations. On June 13, 1990, the new McDonnell Douglas, Emerson Electric, Anheuser-Busch Wing of the Thomas Jefferson Library was dedicated. Of architectural interest is the glass pyramid on the west side of the building. It is strikingly reminiscent of the version designed and built for the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Museum in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

by famed architect

I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

. In 1996 the 1,250 members of the Mercantile Library voted for and approved the Library's move from its downtown St. Louis location to the Thomas Jefferson Library building. On October 2, 1998, the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri–St. Louis was formally rededicated. The Mercantile Library now resides on the first two floors of the Thomas Jefferson Library building beneath its signature glass pyramid.

Resources and Holdings

Source: ''American Library Directory 2006-2007'' * 1,051,952 Book Volumes * 1,011,867 Book Titles * 3,614 Periodical Subscriptions * 1,152 Videos * 109 Journals

Special Collections

* Colonial Latin American History * Mercantile * US Document Depository * Utopian Literature and Science Fiction

References

External links

* {{authority control Library buildings completed in 1968 University and college academic libraries in the United States Libraries in Missouri Libraries in Greater St. Louis University of Missouri–St. Louis Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri 1968 establishments in Missouri