Evolution of the Library’s Space, 1825-2002
The medical library began as a collection of 710 books personally selected by Thomas Jefferson in 1825 as part of his fledgling University of Virginia. Housed in the Rotunda amid approximately 8,000 books on other topics, all were lost in the tragic fire of 1895. The collection was slowly rebuilt, largely by donations from alumni and other concerned individuals. In 1929, a separate Medical Library was established just inside the entrance to the new Medical School building.
The sixty-seat Medical Library of 1929 had become totally inadequate by the 1970s, when the student population had increased by 53% to 352, and almost half of the collection had to be housed elsewhere on the Grounds of the University. When Dr. Wilhelm Moll became Library Director in 1962, creating a new library became a major priority. He began planning and fundraising for new space. Eleven years later, a new building was under way. The $2.3 million construction project, plus an additional $400,000 in furnishings and equipment, was funded with a $1.5 million grant from the federal government, more than $500,000 raised by University alumni, friends, foundations, and some State appropriations.
When the Library was completed in 1975 it integrated the collections and services of the separate Nursing School and Medical School Libraries into a Health Sciences Library in a free-standing 66,250 square foot facility with seating for 500, and it provided a bridge (literally) between the UVa Hospital on one side of Jefferson Park Avenue and the research and education buildings on the other. This latter fact had involved the entire Charlottesville community, for in order to construct a University building over a city street, “air rights” had to be negotiated. Dr. Donald Frederickson, the director of the National Institutes of Health at the time, remarked at the dedication, “[This location] completes my earlier search for symbolism of the library in the main stream of traffic.” Details of the new library building were published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association in 1976.
By 1988, planning by Library Director Terry Thorkildson and Associate Director John Patruno was underway for renovating approximately 7,000 square feet on the occupied first floor and adding an additional 7,000 square feet by developing space in an unfinished basement. With the assistance of the architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross, a pre-planning study was conducted which resulted in a $1.9 million proposal sent forward from the Library in 1989 to the University administration for inclusion in the 1990-92 Capital Outlay Plan. It was not funded.
In 1990, Linda Watson was named Library Director, and with modest revisions the proposal was resubmitted in 1991 and 1993 for $2.1 million and $2.5 million respectively, but again not funded. At that point a more extensive review of space needs was initiated resulting in a 1995 proposal for $5.5 million that encompassed total renovation as well as expansion into the unfinished basement space. Persistence paid off and the funding came through in the 1996-98 budget.
An architectural firm, Ayers Saint Gross, was selected in December 1996. From 1997 through 1998 plans were developed and approved, and coincidently, the Library’s aging roof was replaced. In 1999 a construction contract was awarded to Daniel & Co. from Richmond, Virginia. An extensive Web site was developed to track the complex progress through all phases of construction. The main project was completed in February 2001.
The renovation of one final reading room, the Cabell Room, was paid for by Library funds. The architect was Daggett Griggs, and the construction contractor was Woodland Construction Company. Construction began July 2001 and was completed in February 2002.