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Hillman Library

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Coordinates: 40°26′33″N 79°57′15″W / 40.442583°N 79.954033°W / 40.442583; -79.954033
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Billcarton (talk | contribs) at 10:43, 25 August 2011 (Moved information specifically on the ULS from the introduction to it's own section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

40°26′33″N 79°57′15″W / 40.442583°N 79.954033°W / 40.442583; -79.954033

Hillman Library from across Forbes Quadrangle. Tony Smith's Light Up! sculpture can be seen at the bottom left and the top floors of the Cathedral of Learning can be seen peaking above it at center.
Tony Smith's 'Light Up,' sits outside the Hillman Library

Hillman Library is the primary building of the University Library System (ULS) of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Located on corner of Forbes Avenue and Schenley Drive diagonally across from the Cathedral of Learning, Hillman serves as the centerpiece of the approximately 6.2 million-volume University Library System at Pitt.[1]


University Library System

The 23rd largest academic library in the United States,[2] the ULS has received national and international attention for its pioneering efforts in the digitization of materials.[3] The ULS partners with other University of Pittsburgh libraries including the Barco Law Library and the Health Sciences Library System, both located on the Pittsburgh campus. The ULS shares a single online system with these partner libraries, collaborates with them to provide facilitated access to all collections, and cooperates on other projects to serve the University.[4]

History

K. Leroy Irvis Reading Room

Hillman Library was built on land that had bordered Forbes Field and was donated in the 1950s to Pitt by coal magnate John H. Hillman, Jr. When Forbes Field was razed in 1971, three other buildings were planned as a cluster for the site: Wesley W. Posvar Hall, David L. Lawrence Hall, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Design of Hillman Library was led by Celli-Flynn and Associates who served as coordinating architects.[5] Kuhn, Newcomer & Valentour served as associated architects, Dolores Miller and Associates consulted on the interior design, and Keyes Metcalf served as a library consultant.[6] Constructed began in June, 1965,[7] and the library opened on January 8, 1968,[8] while its formal dedication was held on September 6, 1968.[9] It is named for John H. Hillman, Jr. Both the Hillman family and the Hillman Foundation gave millions toward its construction. The facade consisting of Indiana Limestone alternated with rows of Max Abramovitz designed the oriel windows. The floor-to-ceiling windows were placed at a bay window angle in order to be inconspicuous on the plane surface of the outer wall while still providing light.[10] With five floors, seating for 1,539 students, and holding 1.9 million volumes, Hillman is the largest of the 17 libraries on the Pitt campus. In 1996, architect Celli-Flynn and Associates and Kuhn, Newcomer & Valentour won the Timeless Award for Enduring Design from the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Institute of Architects for its design of Hillman Library.[11][12]

Special Collections/Rooms

The Latin American Reading Room housing the Eduardo Lozano Latin American Collection was designed by Peruvian native Victor Beeltran to be reminiscent of a Spanish courtyard.[13]

Hillman Library contains many different collections and reading spaces. Among them are:

 

[1]

Art

Study area inside Hillman Library. A pair of Virgil Cantini tapestries can be seen hanging on the wall to the left.

A rotating selection of John James Audubon prints from the university's copy of The Birds of America, one of only 120 complete collections in existence, is on view in the library’s ground floor display case. Individual plates from this collection are exhibited for two weeks at a time in order of plate number.[14] Many other graphic and sculptural works are nestled among the stairways and study areas on the building’s upper floors, some of which are on loan from the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Several works of Virgil Cantini are in the library, including a wood and metal sculpture of an arrow-pierced St. Sebastian, located in the first floor stairwell, and a wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding a lamb.[15] Flanking the wall opposite the first floor reference desk are two abstract works: “Modern Warfare” by Kes Zapkus and “Arcing Light” by Albert Stadler. A large bust of Confucius by Chinese artist Li Guangyu and a stone sculpture, “The Sound of Autumn,” by Masayuki Nagare are on the second floor. Near the special collections reading room on the third floor is a selection of early 20th century illustrations in watercolor, charcoal and crayon created to accompany the work of mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. Also on the third floor are works by winners of the A.J. Schneider Studio Arts Award, selected from among entries in the annual student exhibition. Winners agree to allow their work to be displayed for one year in the reading room.[2]

In addition, a folk music concert series entitled The Emerging Legends Series is performed in The Cup & Chaucer café on the ground floor of Hillman Library. The series, a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh Library System and Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society, is free and open to the public.[16][17]

Tony Smith's 1971 painted steel sculpture Light Up! can be found outside Hillman library in Forbes Quad between the library and Posvar Hall.[3]

Woodruff medal

The Dick Thornburgh Room contains artifacts from the Dick Thornburgh Archives Collection[18] and adjoins the Jay Waldman Seminar Room[19]

1936 Berlin Summer Olympics track and field 800-meter gold medalist John Woodruff, an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh, donated his gold medal to the university where it has hung on display for many years, most recently at Hillman Library.[20] Woodruff's 800 m win in the 1936 games was the first for an African American in front of Adolf Hitler and was achieved in what has been called "the most daring move seen on a track" when he stopped in mid-race in order to break out of a pack of runners and then retook the lead in a sprint to the finish, thereby becoming the first American to achieve gold in 800 m in 24 years.[21] In 2008, the medal was removed for loan to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., where it was part of the exhibit "State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda."[22] A new, more secure display for the medal in Hillman Library will be unveiled in October, 2011.

Literary associations

Hillman Library is a primary setting for The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, a novel by Pitt alumnus Michael Chabon, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.

  • Forbes Quad. The side of Hillman Library can be seen on the right.
    Forbes Quad. The side of Hillman Library can be seen on the right.

References

Hillman Library
  • Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
  • Kidney, Walter C. (1997). Pittsburgh's Landmark Architecture: The Historic Buildings of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. ISBN 0-916670-18-X.
  • Toker, Franklin (1994) [1986]. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5434-6.
  1. ^ Blake, Sharon S. (2008-05-2). "Library Acquires Five Millionth Volume". Pitt Chronicle. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2008-05-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "University of Pittsburgh Library System Offers Free E-Journal Publishing Service" (Press release). University of Pittsburgh. 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  3. ^ Cronin, Mike (2009-06-08). "Pitt library director says function will define future as resources go digital". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  4. ^ About Us: The University Library System, accessdate=2008-11-14
  5. ^ "Hillman Library Renovations" (PDF). Celli-Flynn Brennan Architects & Planners. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  6. ^ Coleman, David (1968-09-04). "Hillman Library Dedicated Today" (Press release). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Department of News and Publications. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  7. ^ "Pitt Readies New Library for Opening". The Pittsburgh Press. 1967-12-07. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  8. ^ Miller, Ralph (1968-02-04). "Pitt's 'Incomplete' Hillman Library Draws Big Volume Of Rave Reviews". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  9. ^ "Hillman Library Dedicated Today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1968-09-06. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  10. ^ Alberts, Robert C. (1986). "Book Four: New Dimensions of Learning in a Free Society". Pitt: the story of the University of Pittsburgh, 1787-1987. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 265. ISBN 9780822911500. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  11. ^ "AIA Pittsburgh Awards". Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Architecture Archives. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  12. ^ Miller, Rush G. (2007-05-30). "In Rebuttal: Polishing the Jewel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  13. ^ Haynes, Monica L. (2002-09-26). "Pitt dedicates Latin American Reading Room at library". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ "Audubon at Pitt". University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2008. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  15. ^ Slattery, Holden (2007-10-26). "Cantini's art beautifies Pitt". The Pitt News. Cantini has done a great deal of religious renderings, including two wood sculptures located on the first floor of the Hillman Library. .
  16. ^ University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) Announces The Emerging Legends Series at The Cup & Chaucer, accessdate=2009-01-14
  17. ^ Kimberly K. Barlow, Faculty duo to play the blues at Hillman Library, University Times, January 8, 2009, accessdate=2009-01-14
  18. ^ Blake, Sharon S. (2007-04-16). "University Dedicates Dick Thornburgh Room In Hillman Library". Pitt Chronicle. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  19. ^ Togyer, Jason (2007-12-03). "Giuliani, Thornburgh Help Dedicate Waldman Room". Pitt Chronicle. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  20. ^ Alzo, Lisa A.; Oxenreiter, Alby (2007). Sports Memories of Western Pennsylvania. Arcadia Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 073855037X. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  21. ^ Steele, Bruce; Alumnus, ’36 Medalist John Woodruff Dies at 92, Pitt Chronicle, 2007-11-05, accessdate=2008-08-16
  22. ^ "The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 Exhibition Opens at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on April 25" (Press release). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2011-08-03.

Panoramic Tours

Preceded by University of Pittsburgh Buildings
Hillman Library
Constructed: 1965-1968 		Succeeded by
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