In 1947, the Undergraduate Division of the University of Illinois at Chicago at Navy Pier -- the students called the campus "Harvard on the Rocks" -- opened its
library with 5,200 books
that were gifts and duplicate
titles from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign library. The
library operated at the Pier
through 1964, when it
moved approximately
135,000 volumes to the
University of Illinois at
Chicago Circle campus's new
main library building.
Designed by the Chicago
architectural firm of
Skidmore, Owings, and
Merrill and led by general
partner Walter Netsch, the
library of the Circle campus
opened its doors in February
1965. It was planned to
serve an anticipated
undergraduate population of
6,000 with space for
260,000 books and seating
for 2,400, although the
actual seating at opening
was only 1,500. Large
structural bays, 30 feet by
45, offered flexibility in
placement of stacks, seating,
and service areas. Two 90-
foot extensions were added
in 1968, increasing both
seating and shelving
capacity.
The architecturally severe
interior with its unfinished
concrete beams, sandblasted
support columns, and vinylasbestos
tile was softened by
English oak paneling placed
in front of the utility cores.
A late 1980s remodeling of
the building led to the
formal relocation of the main
entrance from the walkway
level to the first floor,
although the first floor
entrance had for many years
already been treated as the
main entrance. All remains
of the second floor entrance
disappeared with the
removal of the elevated
walkways in 1993. During
the same remodeling, an
attractive west side entrance
was added, creating a
pedestrian court through the
center of the building that
symbolically links east and
west campuses.
Forty years after the creation
of the campus, the library's
collections in all sites now
number over 2,000,000
volumes, many of which are
located in offsite storage.
However, information technology has made possible
access to thousands of
scientific journals in the
sciences and health sciences,
accessible at all hours of the
day and night. Interactive
reference and online chat
services extend the resources
of the University Library in
all its sites to members of the
university community
throughout the greater
Chicago metropolitan area.
For more information about the UIC Library's University Archives and Special Collections Department, see http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll/.
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