| |
| |
Caption: Book - History of the University (Nevins)
This is a reduced-resolution page image for fast online browsing.
EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:
THE LIBRARY 235 awaken the Legislature to its needs in books, and obtained annual grants of $25,000, later increased to $50,000—the latter nearly as large a sum as any other institution in America was spending, and sufficient to disturb some book prices. Such steady progress was made that whereas when Dr. James had come the library held but about 75,000 volumes, by the end of 1916 there were nearly 400,000 bound volumes and 100,000 pamphlets. Officers argued to the Legislature that the remote situation of Illinois made special provision necessary, and the President once compiled figures to show that the University lagged behind Wisconsin, California, and Leland StanfordJjjIn spite of a legislative blindness that was once about to halve the appropriation because of a shortage of shelving, Illinois has come to possess one of the twelve largest University libraries in the country, and one of the two or three fastest growing. In 1907 the first important item in a series of special foreign acquisitions, the Dittenberger library of the classics, was purchased!! Two years later P. L. Windsor was appointed librarian and director of the library school. A few words suffice for the history of the professional schools at Urbana during this period. The college of law increased slowly in registration, though its reputation by no means came to equal that of the schools 0 f Chicago or Northwestern University. A long period of legislative disfavor was ended when in 1909 a grant was made for a law library, and the future was thereafter thought secure. In 1907 the entrance requirements had been fixed at one full year of University work, and in 1915 they were made two; while Dean Harf|r I bored till his resignation in 1916 to make the fflBSttll by the small faculty thorough. The stand&s have hence been honorably high. The State library school
| |
