Butler Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Nicholas Murray Butler Library, commonly known simply as Butler Library, is the largest single library in the Columbia University Library System, which contains over 8.6 million books, and is one of the largest buildings on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. Proposed as "South Hall" by University President Nicholas Murray Butler as expansion plans for Low Memorial Library stalled, the new library was funded by Edward Harkness, benefactor of Yale's residential college system, and designed by his favourite architect, James Gamble Rogers. It was completed in 1934 and renamed for Butler in 1946.
Its facade displays the names of great writers and thinkers, most of whom (though not all) are read by students engaged in the Core Curriculum of Columbia College. Unlike most university libraries, Butler remains at least partially open 24 hours a day, a practice which has engendered a peculiar culture of late night studying and even temporary student residency in the building. Sexual escapades in the library's stacks are a salient piece of Columbia lore. The library's unique culture was enhanced with the 2006 creation of boredatbutler.com, a website featuring scrolling anonymous comments posted mostly by people in the library.
