This year, William & Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library marks its 50th birthday. Half a century ago, the campus celebrated the opening of its new library building, named after Earl Gregg Swem, who served as college librarian from 1920-1944. Taken from the University Archives Photograph Collection, the images in this exhibit show the planning, construction, and opening of Swem Library in 1966.

The original college library was located in the historic Wren Building and would remain there for more than 200 years. A separate library building, now known as Tucker Hall, served as such from 1909 until 1966.

By the early 1950s concern mounted about the inadequacies of the library, and in 1961 the development of a new campus west of the existing one began. During Homecoming Weekend 1963 a groundbreaking ceremony prepared the way for the new library. The doors of the Earl Gregg Swem Library opened Jan. 4, 1966, and the building was dedicated on Charter Day, Feb. 12, 1966.

Over the past five decades, Swem Library has continued to grow and change, undergoing renovations and additions, all the while remaining central to the academic mission and social experience on campus.

Images of the exhibit are available from Swem Library on Flickr.

Curator: Jennie Davy, Burger Archives Specialist. Exhibit Design and Installation: Jessica Molz, SCRC Graphics Student Assistant, and Jennie Davy, with assistance from Khanh Vo, Special Collections Graduate Apprentice and PhD Candidate in American Studies.