ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
(Figures include the main campus library, campus "branch" libraries in geology, veterinary medicine, art and architecture, and the Northern Virginia Graduate School)
Number of volumes: 1,951,580
Subscriptions (journals and newspapers): 17,743
Microforms (filmed documents): 5,886,007
Government documents: 398,741
Map collection: 128,417
Film and video: 7,173
Insured value of collections: $301 million
Miles of shelving at Newman Library: 32.4
Number of items circulated yearly: 437,340
Number of information/reference requests yearly: 300,000
Number of computer terminals with Internet access: 358
History highlights
* When Virginia Tech opened in 1872, its only building contained a two-room library with 500 books.
* The first library building, known as the "Dutch Barn," was built in 1905, used as a chapel until 1914 and demolished in 1953.
* The first microfilm was purchased in 1946.
* Carol M. Newman Library was completed in 1955 and dedicated on May 11, 1956, at a cost of $1.7 million. The facility was named for a former professor who headed Tech's English department 1903-41.
* The first computer catalog was introduced in 1976.
* An addition that created the library's curved stone facade and doubled the facility's space was completed in 1981. Cost: $8 million.
Looking for a good book?
Most, but not all, library services are open to the public. All it takes is a valid Virginia driver's license, for instance, to check out a book.
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