To go along with the display celebrating the opening of the Lodi Campus Library in 1969 in the main lobby, the Felician University Archives presents this digital exhibition highlighting the 50 year history of the library from its construction to the present. Please enjoy this look back in time and celebrate the library's Golden Jubilee with us!
Construction of the library began in 1966 and completed three years later in 1969. Prior to this, the library was housed within the convent building which is today Kirby Hall. The new library building was part of a large-scale physical expansion program the college underwent which included becoming a four-year institution in 1967 and the construction of Obal Hall as a main administrative building. The library was designed by architect Albert C. Levenelm Jr. and constructed by the Mahoney-Troast Company, costing about $4 million to complete along with Obal Hall. It was originally made to hold up to 90,000 volumes and built with fewer windows in order to reduce daylight glare and direct sunlight to better protect its contents. The creation of a dedicated library space with expanded offerings and student resources was essential to Felician being approved to offer four-year degrees and gain national accreditation in the 1970s.
Below are pictures of the library under construction from 1967:
Architect's rendering of the library
The library was blessed and dedicated on May 18, 1969. The school proclaimed this date as "Dedication Day" to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new library and administration building, now named Obal Hall.
The library opened for use during the Fall 1969 semester. The original layout for the library included the circulation desk in the foyer and the periodical room, main reading room with stacks, and mezzanine stacks on the first floor. The second floor held a reading lounge, listening room with electronic table for music and poetry appreciation, and a Polish collection which reflected the school's Polish-Catholic heritage. The ground floor held a seminar and microfilm room, curriculum room for student teachers, an additional stacks and reading room, and the bound periodicals collection.
The library held 32,221 volumes during the 1969-1970 academic year and registered a total of 38,432 circulations, a 65% increase from the previous year.
Front of Lodi Campus Library First Floor Stacks and Reading Room
Reading Lounge Periodical Room
Original Library Director Sister Mary Mericia Liszekski served in the position from 1964 through 1986.
Sister Mary Mericia on left with staff member Photograph from yearbook
in November 1977, Felician College was hit hard by flooding after the Saddle River overflowed, causing major damage to the library and its contents. The ground floor completely flooded, destroying or badly damaging many books, audio-visual materials and equipment, and Teacher Education materials. The faculty dining room, mechanical rooms, and storage closets were also completely wiped out. The damage to the Teacher Education materials caused the department to reach out to several book companies in search of replacement texts. The flooding caused an estimated $1 million of damage to the school.
Information and photographs from Herald News, Daily News, and Garfield-Lodi-Rochelle Park Shopper.
Sister Mary Mericia surveying book damage Sisters in the library standing next to destroyed and damaged books
Sister Mary Firmina with microfilm to dry Sister Mericia removing water-soaked magazines from Periodicals
The Felician College Library first made online databases available in September 1994. The original computerized information system, called FirstSearch, was available on a special computer which could only be used inside the library. Forty databases were available to access and users were charged $10 for ten searches to use the system. Database offerings grew in the years following and users were no longer charged. By 1997, the library established a website as part of the new official school website and databases could be accessed off-campus. The number of volumes held by the library reached over 120,000 by 1998, although as online databases grew circulation numbers declined in favor of accessing information and articles online.
Library section of the Felician College website in December 1998, from Archive.org
Felician College was hit with another major flood in September 1999 thanks to Hurricane Floyd. Similar to the flooding in 1977, the library lost over 30,000 books and periodicals including the entire children's book collection for Teacher Education and the history collection. Because of the damages and the loss of electricity and other utilities, students were forced to rely on other university libraries in the state that opened their doors to our students. In the following months, the library moved books and journals to the top floors and began plans to move furniture and computers to the basement to prevent further large-scale loss. In addition, the entirety of the Teacher Education materials was moved to the Rutherford campus, officially dedicating the Audrey Toron Curriculum Library in 2003.
Information and photographs from The Record and Herald News.
Back of library following flooding from hurricane Then Director Stephen Karetzky in front of empty shelves
Sister Carmeline Kowalski examining damage to the library Volunteers removing damaged books from the library
In the 21st century, the Lodi Campus Library underwent an extensive renovation project in order to offer additional services and create a modernized environment for patrons. A handicap access ramp was added to the exterior, more computers were installed, and the reading rooms received new furniture on multiple occasions. In 2009, the library began a series of multi-cultural programs and opened group study rooms, a digital media lab, and a computer lab in the basement level. To celebrate its new additions and offerings, the library held a blessing and rededication ceremony on October 8, 2010.
Outside of the library, August 2009 First floor Stacks and Reading Area, October 2007
Second-floor reading lounge, October 2009 Computer Lab, October 2009
Black History Month presentation, February 2010 Pacific Asian American Month presentation, April 2010
In recent years, the library made it even easier to find books and articles with the OneSearch@Felician tool on its website. Also introduced were the Academic Success Workshops series, the LS100: The Architecture of Information course, Fast Track Library Boot Camp for nursing students, and the annual Student Library Research Award. The Rutherford Campus Library since opening in Fall 2015 has become the central location for computer use and group study and offers evening and weekend hours for on-campus students, but the Lodi Campus Library still holds most of the library's book collection and continues to offer reference services and space for reading and studying. It has survived damage from floods on multiple occasions and has been able to adapt to fit the needs of students throughout its fifty years in service.
First Floor Stacks and Reading Area, December 2017