Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interior, Firestone Library.

The Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library is the main library at Princeton University named after Harvey Firestone. It first opened in 1948, as the first of its kind constructed after World War II.

Roughly 1.5 million volumes were moved during the summer of 1948 from East Pyne Hall, which until then served as the University's main library.

The library was expanded in 1971 and again in 1988 and currently has over 50 miles of bookshelves.

The building itself does not appear very large from outside; this is because almost all its books are stored in one of the three underground levels that extend beyond the footprint of the main building. In addition, the book collection has outgrown Firestone's present capacity and two annexes in the Princeton University Forrestal campus are used to store volumes and materials that are less frequently used.

Though Firestone is not the largest university library in the world, Princeton librarians will boast that Firestone has the most books per student compared to any other university in the country. Firestone is one of the largest open stack libraries in existence.

The library contains many study spaces, including the Trustees Room, a open study space bounded on one side by glass pannels which contain the name of all present and past university trustees and presidents.

In addition, the library has a social science reference center; a reserved books area; and many departments have their own private seminar and study rooms. The University's interlibrary loan services and most librarian staff have offices in Firestone. The 6 story-high building also contains carrels (offices about the size of a large closet) reserved for faculty, graduate and undergraduate seniors working on their theses.