The High Library
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
717-361-1451
www.etown.edu/HighLibrary.aspx

A Brief History of the Elizabethtown College Library

Elizabethtown College’s first library was housed on the second floor of Alpha Hall from 1900 until 1903, when it was moved to the building’s first floor. In 1910 the library was moved to Rider Hall, where in 1928 a reading room was added to expand the size of the library.	Alpha Hall
By 1935 there was an effort by the Board of Trustees to build a new library, but the Great Depression scuttled those plans. During the World War II era, the College began the process of meeting requirements to pass the Middle States Association accreditation.	Rider Hall Library in the 1920s
One of the concerns to be addressed for accreditation was a stipulation the College needed to build a library commensurate with its educational goals and aspirations. A fund- raising effort was initiated, and on April 9, 1949, ground breaking began on the new library. At a cost of $160,000, the Zug Memorial Library was dedicated on October 20, 1950; named in honor of Samuel R. Zug, one of the founders of Elizabethtown College. The new facility had capacity for 50,000 volumes, even though in 1950 there were only 16,500 volumes in the collection.	Zug Memorial Library in the 1950s
It did not take too many years before Zug’s capacity was reached, and in 1965 a wing on each end of the library was added, thereby expanding the library’s capacity to 100,000 volumes for a student population of up to 1200.	Zug Memorial Library under renovation in 1965
In the mid-1980s, a capital campaign was begun under President Gerhard Spiegler’s leadership. One of the campaign’s goals was to raise enough funds to erect a new library. With the help of a generous gift from the High Foundation of Lancaster, the new library’s construction began on March 14, 1989, and the building dedication was on September 22, 1990. The new library was named in honor S. Dale High, a class of 1963 graduate of Elizabethtown College. The High Library has a capacity to house 250,000 volumes and is equipped with conference rooms, study carrels and group study spaces. The main floor also contains a smart classroom for research instruction and student use.	The High Library
The following individuals have served as the librarian or the director of the library: 1904-1905  Lydia Buckwalter Heilman 1905-1906  Charles Bower 1906-1907  Ruth Stayer Hoover 1907-1911  L.D. Rose 1911-1913  B.F. Waltz 1913-1916  Calvin J. Rose 1916-1917  H.D. Moyer 1917-1919  John F. Graham 1919-1920  Supera Martz 1920-1921  Floy Crouthamel 1921-1940  L.D. Rose 1940-1941  Florence Becker 1941-1948  Isabel McCurdy 1948-1949  vacant 1949-1952  M. Alice Sylvester 1952-1959  Alice S. Heilman 1959-1960  Emily C. Rahter 1960-1986  Anna M. Carper 1986-2003  Nelson Bard 2003-2005  Sylvia Morra 2005-present  BethAnn Zambella	S. Dale High

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• Peter DePuydt                                   
• High Library
• October 20, 2009

10/09