One thing we missed during the pandemic was marking the 40th anniversary of Evansdale Library opening its doors. So, it’s with some extra exuberance that we celebrate Evansdale Library’s 42nd anniversary.
On Nov. 19, 1980, students and faculty on the Evansdale Campus gained easier access to library collections in their subject areas. The Daily Athenaeum noted that the new library had “… a large microform room, one computer terminal, and an audio-visual learning center as well as traditional facilities.”
Old photo of Evansdale Library
More than two years earlier, on July 7, 1978, a crowd of more than 200 students, faculty, staff, administrators and state officials gathered on the grassy field between the Engineering Building and the Agricultural Sciences Building to break ground for the new library.
Then Gov. Jay Rockefeller addressed the audience, extolling the importance of academic libraries.
“There is no act of progress which is more significant than break ground for a new library. Libraries lie at the essential nature of a university. Let us be clear that a library is the first and foremost priority of this university,” Rockefeller said.
His words were especially significant because the University was also in the process of building a new football stadium.
“There is no act of progress which is more significant than break ground for a new library. Libraries lie at the essential nature of a university. Let us be clear that a library is the first and foremost priority of this university,” Gov. Jay Rockefeller
WVU President Gene Budig said WVU “has a very real opportunity to become an exceptional institution of higher learning in the immediate years ahead. It is positioned for a role of state and national leadership.”
However, Budig continued, a major hurdle had been in the way.
“(WVU) does require certain improvements if it is to achieve that true potential,” Budig said. “One such need is found in the area of library facilities, and today we signal a dramatic public commitment to meet that need. Without an adequate library system, a university is not deserving of that honored designation.”