User:Zawackae/King Library

King Library is the library of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It consists of four floors: basement, first floor, second floor and third floor. It is open 24 hours five days a week and has limited hours in the weekend. Sponsored by the Miami University Parent’s Fund, textbooks for Miami’s most popular classes are available for checkout at King Library. Also available are laptop computers, digital cameras, video cameras, iSight cameras, portable DVD players and microphones. The King Café is located in the basement floor. King Cafe offers a variety of beverages and food options, including Starbucks coffee, and plenty of seating. The Roger and Joyce Howe Center For Writing Excellence are located on the first floor of King Library. The goal of the Center for Writing Excellence is to increase the quality of writing for all Miami University students. The Center for Information Management (CIM), located on the first floor of King Library, offers students and faculty access to a variety of multimedia technology, such as image scanners, large- format printing, podcasting facilities, and desktop publishing and video software. There are many quiet study areas as well as study tables and group study rooms available throughout the Libraries. King Library obtains access to 3 million books, 110,000 maps, and tens of thousands of sound recordings, periodicals, videos, and DVDs.

King Library
King library
General information
Type	Library
Architectural style	Georgian architecture
Location	Oxford, Ohio
Address	151 South Campus Avenue
Country	United States of America
Cost	USD $3,574,000.00
Technical details
Floor area	175,159 GSF
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Frank L. Packard

History

In the early 1900’s, the site of King Library was held by Hepburn Hall, a residence building for women. The shortage of housing forced some women to live in the attic about the third floor. Because some of the lights were defective, some residents had to strike matches to find their way and it was rumored that some women used the attic as a smoking lounge. Due to these circumstances, a major fire burned down Hepburn Hall on January 14, 1908.

King Library was originally known as the King Undergraduate Library when the south section was completed in 1966. When the north section was completed in 1972, the word “undergraduate” was dropped from its name. Before King Library was built, Alumni Library was the used as the main university library. When King Library was completed in 1972, Alumni Library was changed to Alumni Hall.

When the library opened in 1966, sixty volunteer fraternity men transferred 40,00 volumes, pushing book trucks up and down ramps across the quad from the old Alumni library.

The building was named after Edgar Weld King, who was responsible for the construction. Dedication to Edgar King and the library was held on February 17, 1973 at King Library, where Edgar gave a speech in front of the university.

Construction

In total, King Library cost $3,574,000.00 to build. The architects used to build the south section were Lorenz and Williams and Lorenz and Williams and Lively and Likens constructed the north section. The general contractor for the south section was Frank Messer and Sons and the constructor for the north section was Danis. The south section was finished in 1966 and the north section was finished in 1972.

The building consists of four floors: the basement, first floor, second floor, and third floor.

Imgres

Edgar Weld King

King Library was named after Edgar Weld King. He was born in Berlin, Germany on December 24, 1893. After earning an A.B. degree at Oberlin College Oberlin College in 1916, King received a diploma from the Library School of New York University New York University and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University Colombia University in 1922. That year, he was appointed librarian at Miami and served continuously until his retirement in 1956. In 1957, the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Doctor of Humane Letters was conferred on him by Miami. During his tenure the library grew from 67,000 volumes to over 350,000 volumes.