UW Libraries Today
Brinkerhoff Geology Library
The original University library collections in geology were first included in the U.W. Library within the Hall of Languages in Old Main and later relocated to the Aven Nelson Building in 1923. At the same time, the Department of Geology, located in the Hall of Science, had its own departmental library, which consisted of the private collections of S. H. Knight, Wyoming Geological Survey contributions, and items bought by the Geology Department. When the Hall of Science expanded in the 1950s to become the S. H. Knight Geology Building, the department successfully argued that the department should have a branch library for geology in the building. The geology materials in Aven Nelson were merged with the departmental collections to become the Geology Library in 1956.
Overcrowding and technological changes in the delivery of information necessitated a renovation of the library in the 1990s. Construction of the Earth Sciences Building, dedicated in 1998, freed up space in the Knight Geology Building for an expansion of the Geology Library from 4,150 square feet to 8,040 square feet. The library was closed for construction from July 1998 to July 1999. It reopened as the Brinkerhoff Earth Resources Information Center in August 1999, in honor of Zachery Brinkerhoff, Jr. and his son Thomas Brinkerhoff, major donors to the reconstruction. The Brinkerhoff library is both beautiful and functional—there is an open feel upstairs and cozy study spaces downstairs. A reading area for new books and periodicals near the entrance is popular with faculty and students. A large-format copier enables the staff to copy maps for patrons.
The library collections are housed on electronically-controlled compact shelving and include materials for geology and physical geography, some mining and petroleum engineering, and U. S. Geological Survey publications. The Barlow and Haun Map Room contains topographic maps at a variety of scales for the U.S. and many other maps of the U.S. and the world, with an emphasis on Wyoming. Jim Barlow and John Haun were the first geology Ph.D. recipients in the Geology Department and contributors to the map room renovation. The collection currently contains over 238,000 maps. There are also over 100,000 infrared and black and white aerial photographs of Wyoming in the collection. Today there is a full-time librarian who serves as the head of the library, a full-time staff member who manages Circulation, a part-time staff member (maps and circulation) and five part-time students working in the Brinkerhoff Earth Resources Information Center.
Sally Scott, Retired Head, Brinkerhoff Earth Resources Information CenterLibrary Annex
The University of Wyoming Science Library opened in 1970 as part of the George Duke Humphrey Science Complex. Located beneath an outdoor plaza, the Science Library formed an underground bridge between the identical Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences buildings, allowing patrons relief from harsh Wyoming weather, as well as full circulation and reference services. The Science Library collection rapidly grew throughout the 1970’s, particularly in response to the University’s increased emphasis on programs in the sciences. By 1979, the library housed over 160,000 volumes, 60,000 more than its designed capacity. The Science Library desperately needed space, and was able to expand underground in 1981. However, the collection continued to grow, and future underground expansion was no longer feasible. By the late 1990’s, over 20% of the Science Library collection was being stored in the main (Coe) library, which was also running out of space. In 2005, the decision was made to refit the Science Library facility with compact shelving, a move that would significantly increase volume capacity and provide future growth for all University Libraries collections. In May 2006, the Science Library officially closed, merging its services, staff, and reference collections into Coe Library. The former Science Library location is now known as the Library Annex, a high density shelving facility set to open in late 2007.
David Kruger, Special Projects LibrarianLearning Resource Center
The Learning Resources Center (LRC), known in past years as the library for the University Prep School, is located on the second level of the College of Education building.
The Prep School was established (as closely as can be identified) at the same time as the University of Wyoming. As a result of a Wyoming state legislative mandate, the school was to serve in the preparation of students for their University careers. Though the school had no internal library, students utilized the main campus library at the time. It wasn’t until circa 1953 that the Prep School established its own internal library. Anita Walters was the first to serve as the librarian.
For a number of years, the library was an independent library serving the Prep School students and faculty. The Prep School and its library were considered a department within the College of Education. Accreditation requirements for the College of Education in 1986 resulted in the University School Library being renamed the Learning Resources Center. At this time the LRC was placed under the administration of the University of Wyoming Libraries in cooperation with the College of Education. This change brought about a slightly different focus for the LRC, since curriculum materials were added to the collection in addition to the children and young adult literature materials. The LRC became formally recognized as the location for children’s and young adult literature for university students. The Learning Resources Center has remained in the same location in the College of Education building throughout the years, and is staffed by one full-time librarian and one full-time staff member.
Laurn Wilhelm, Head, Learning Resource CenterUW - National Park Service Research Center
The University of Wyoming--National Park Service (UW--NPS) Research Center is a cooperative effort between the two entities to foster research in National Parks in the Greater Yellowstone Area. In particular, the Center operates a field research station at the AMK Ranch within Grand Teton National Park. The primary function of the Research Station is to promote excellence in research by furnishing housing, laboratory space, transportation, equipment and financial support to enable investigators in the biological, physical and social sciences to access the diverse environments of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, Bridger-Teton and Targhee National Forests and the Gros Vente and Teton Wilderness Areas. Ready access to a small, local research library and the broader resources of the University of Wyoming Libraries is a vital part of the support provided to researchers at the Station. A library collection existed on the premises as early as 1948. In the mid-1980’s, the Center partnered with the University of Wyoming Libraries to provide regular acquisitions and maintenance for the collection and to integrate its holdings into the larger library catalog.
Janis Leath, Assistant Head, Collection DevelopmentHerbarium
The University of Wyoming Libraries maintains a branch library within the Rocky Mountain Herbarium facility to support the work of researchers and others working in plant taxonomy. The Herbarium was established by Aven Nelson in 1893. It ranks 17th in the
nation with over 719,000 plant specimens and is the largest facility of its kind between St. Louis, Missouri and Berkeley, California. It contains the largest collection of Rocky Mountain plants and fungi in existence. The connection of plant and library collections is a logical one since it is critical for plant taxonomists to have published literature at hand as they classify plants. In the mid-1980’s the two organizations partnered to establish an excellent collection of systematics literature for North America along with major floristics and systematics treatments for the world. The Libraries provide regular acquisitions and maintenance for the collection and holdings are an integral part of the University of Wyoming Libraries’ catalog.
Hebard Collection
The Grace Raymond Hebard Collection of Wyoming history and culture has its origin with the materials collected by its namesake, Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard. As one of the early faculty members at the University of Wyoming, and well-known western historian, Dr. Hebard took a keen interest in the history of Wyoming. An avid collector, she gathered all she could find written about the state. Librarian Reba Davis (1919-1929) designated a room in the then new University Library Building, now the Aven Nelson Building, in 1924 as the Hebard Room. Dr. Hebard passed away October 11, 1936 and her will directed that all of her historical material – books, maps, photographs, and files – be given to the University. The published materials were added to those already housed in the Hebard Room, while the manuscript materials became the basis for the University Archives, today known as the American Heritage Center.
Today the Hebard Collection is housed in the American Heritage Center where the materials are available to researchers in the Owen Wister Western Writers Reading Room. With the ILLC addition to the University Libraries, the Hebard Collection will be relocated to the main library.
The Hebard Collection, holding more than 45,000 cataloged titles, is the most comprehensive library of Wyoming print materials in Wyoming. George Miles, Curator of the Western Americana Collection at the Beinecke Library, Yale University, considers the Hebard Collection “a major research collection of national importance that provides essential service for scholars working in the history and culture of Wyoming and the Mountain Plains West.” Subjects of note in the Collection include: agriculture, dude ranching, exploration narrative, Grand Teton National Park, Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Johnson County War, Native American resources, Oregon-Mormon-Bozeman Trails, Railroads, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, water resources and Yellowstone National Park. The Hebard Collection also serves as the library of record for University of Wyoming publications.
Tamsen Hert, Wyoming Bibliographer