Good strategic plans are not created out of thin air. Grounded in an organization’s rich history, effective plans take past successes and use them to reach future accomplishments. This holds true for the Saint Louis University Libraries Strategic Plan.
The University Libraries have always been an integral part of Saint Louis University since its founding in 1818. As with other great colleges and universities, some say that the libraries are the heart of the institution. From its humble beginnings housed in a room 40 feet by 20 feet, the University Libraries have expanded and morphed many times over in response to meeting student and faculty needs. From the hand-written ledger of book titles in 1836, to the microfilming of Vatican Film manuscripts in the 1950’s, to Pius XII Memorial Library opening on May 18, 1959, automating the card catalog in the 1980’s-1990’s, to today’s development of a new digital production center that will provide access to rare and unique materials, the Libraries are rapidly moving through the early part of this century directly on the path to meeting the information needs of students, faculty, and researchers.
The development of the Pius XII Memorial Library, Vatican Film Library, Medical Center Library, and the Omer Poos Law Library have been in-step with the University’s growth and development ovcr time. For example, when SLU was established in 1818, the Library was known as the “rarest in the West” because of its significant collection of scholarly and research materials including 1 of only 500 sets of a 1662 Geography of the Earth published in Amsterdam and a 1490 theological dictionary. During the turn of the century through the 1950’s the University experienced a “second founding.” University President Paul C. Reinert introduced lay people to the Board of Trustees and James V. Jones was appointed the first lay University Librarian. The Vatican Film Library undertook the largest microfilming project in the humanities up until this time. President Eisenhower cited this record of achievement by saying that, “The establishment of the Pius XII Library will interest millions of Americans…..” (letter from Eisenhower to Reinert, 2 Dec. 1954). From 1960 through the 1980’s, as the University focused on community expanding the Frost campus by 22 acres which served as a catalyst for urban renewal, the Medical Center Library moved into its current location in the Margaret Doisy Learning Resource Center, the Omer Poos Law Library moved into it’s present location within the Law School, and a new atrium addition and reading area was built onto the front of Pius Library.
As Saint Louis University moves towards becoming the finest Catholic Jesuit University in America, the physical renovation to the campus is striking. SLU has expanded by 40 acres and more than 30 buildings. All 4 libraries have reached capacity in terms of collections. Grounded in our rich history, our Strategic Plan centers energies on re-inventing library spaces as destinations for discovery and study, on establishing ideal conditions for preservation and access to our rare and unique research collections, and on enriching the academic community by partnering with affinity groups.
