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1386 Envelope
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From
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
EXERCISES AND ADDRESSES
AT THE
Laying of the Corner Stone
OF THE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BUILDING
OCTOBER, 1889
CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
EXERCISES AND ADDRESSES
AT THE
34/5-5-2
Laying of the Corner Stone
OF THE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BUILDING
OCTOBER 30, 1889
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY
ITHACA, N. Y.
+
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
1. Singing, by the Congregation.
2. Prayer, by the Rev. CHARLES M. TYLER.
3. Historical Sketch of the Building, by President C. K. Adams.
4. Description of the Building, by Acting Librarian G. W.
HARRIS.
5. Address in behalf of the Faculty, by the Senior Member, Pro-
fessor GEORGE C. CALDWELL.
6. Address, by Ex-President A. D. WHITE.
7. Singing, by the Congregation.
8. The Laying of the Corner-Stone, by the Hon. H. W. SAGE.
9. Singing, by the Congregation.
10. Benediction, by the Rev. CHARLES M. TYLER.
Cornell University Library Building.
AT
LAYING OF THE CORNER-STONE.
T the Annual Meeting of the Trustees of Cornell
University, held on the 30th of October, 1889, the
corner-stone of the Library Building was laid, with the
ceremonies which it is the object of this publication to
commemorate. It was originally designed that the ad-
dresses should be given in the open air; but the inclem-
ency of the weather made it necessary to repair to
Barnes Hall for all of the exercises except the formal
putting of the corner-stone in place.
After the singing of the Doxology, the ceremonies
were held in the following order:
PRAYER.
BY THE REV. CHARLES M. TYLER.
O God, eternal, invisible, whose hand hath formed,
and whose right hand sustains us; in whom we live
and move and have our being; grant that all our work,
begun, continued, and ended in Thee, may tend only to
Thine honor. Thou includest all knowledge, and all
truth flows from Thee, the fountain. All human sci-
ence and art and industry are inspired of Thee, who dost
behold from the heights of goodness and wisdom the
whole march of man through time. We gratefully ac-
knowledge Thee as the guide and friend of Thy chil-
dren in every age. If nations and states and institu-
tions of learning rise to bless the world, it is because
6
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
Thou hast given the purpose and the power to mankind
to build the fabrics of progress. If the accumulating
treasures of man's discovery and thought are garnered
in books, and protected from decay within imperishable
walls, it is to fulfill Thy beneficent purpose to bless
and elevate the race.
We stand in Thy presence to seek Thy blessing, as
we reverently lay the foundations of this structure. Let
these walls and towers rise in beauty and majesty, and
there be gathered here the wisdom of the past! May
no earthquake's shock dismantle them; may no fire rav-
age and destroy them; may no tempest of war rage
around them, to smite them into ruins. May they who
here seek for wisdom, consecrate it when found to the
welfare of humanity and the elevation of personal char-
acter. Let Thy benediction rest upon our beloved Uni-
versity, upon its President, and all its instructors and
benefactors; and may the exalting influences which
shall go forth from this seat of learning be felt to the
remotest ages of the world, to bless mankind and honor
Thy name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CORNELL UNIVER-
SITY LIBRARY BUILDING.
BY PRESIDENT C. K. ADAMS.
On the 14th day of July, 1880, Mrs. Jennie McGraw
Fiske executed her last will and testament, in which,
after very liberal provisions for her relatives and friends,
occurred the following clauses, viz.:
"I give and bequeath to Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y.,
the sum of $15,000, to be expended in the erection and furnishing
of a small hospital upon the grounds of the University, for the use
University Library Building.
7
of the students of said University, and an additional sum of $25,-
ooo as a fund, the interest or income of which shall be applied to
the support and maintenance thereof.
"I give and bequeath to Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y.,
$50,000 in trust, to be expended, so far as necessary, in complet-
ing and perfecting the McGraw Building of said University, and
in ornamenting and otherwise fitting up the grounds immediately
adjacent thereto; any surplus to constitute a trust fund to be in-
vested, and the proceeds or income to keeping said buildings and
grounds in good condition, and in making any needed improve-
ments or additions thereto.
"I give and bequeath to said Cornell University $200,000 in
trust, to be securely invested and known as the McGraw Library
Fund, the interest and income thereof to be applied to the support,
maintenance and increase of the Library of said University, but
no books, papers or periodicals which may have been or may be
created or published in hostility to the Christian religion or doc-
trines, shall ever be purchased with said funds.
“I give, devise and bequeath all the rest, residue and remain-
der of my property (if any there shall be) to Cornell University
aforesaid, to be added to the McGraw Library Fund' aforesaid,
and subject to the trusts, purposes, uses and conditions hereinbe-
fore prescribed for said fund.
A little more than a year after executing the will
from which the above extracts are taken, that is to say,
on the 30th of September, 1881, Mrs. Jennie McGraw
Fiske died at Ithaca.
The will was duly admitted to probate, and a judicial
settlement was made in January, 1883, the larger parts
of the bequests and of the residuary estate having been
paid by the executor to the several legatees.
But on the 6th of September, 1883, a petition was
filed by the representatives of Willard Fiske, the sur-
viving husband of Jennie McGraw Fiske, contesting the
validity of the will, chiefly on the ground that the Uni-
versity already possessed the full amount of property to
which it was entitled under the charter.
On the 24th of the following October a similar peti-
tion was filed in behalf of Joseph McGraw and others,
as the heirs and next of kin of Jennie McGraw Fiske.
8
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
The hearing of the case before the Surrogate was be-
gun in November, 1883, but was not completed until
November, 1885.
On the 25th day of May, 1886, the Surrogate entered
his decision sustaining, in all essential particulars, the
validity of the will.
Exception was taken, and the case was appealed to
the Supreme Court, where the decision of the Surrogate,
in its essential findings, was reversed. This decision
was confirmed by the Court of Appeals of the State of
New York, whence an appeal was taken to the Supreme
Court of the United States, before which the case awaits
a final decision at the present time.
On the 20th day of June, 1888, the Hon. Henry W.
Sage, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, gave notice
to the Trustees of his purpose to provide for the Uni-
versity Library Building and the endowment of the
Library, in case the executor of the estate of Jennie Mc-
Graw Fiske should, in defending the will, fail to estab-
lish and maintain the rights of the University. On the
19th day of September, 1888, a formal proposition was
made by Mr. Sage to the Trustees of the University to
pay half a million dollars to the University; $200,000
to be devoted to the erection of a building, and $300,000
to be a permanent endowment, the income of which
shall forever be devoted to the purchase of books; the
whole of this gift being given on condition that the
amount shall be returned to him or his heirs and as-
signs, in case the rights of the University in the will of
Jennie McGraw Fiske are finally confirmed and estab-
lished.
The gift of Mr. Sage was subsequently increased by
$19,882, on July 15th, 1889.
University Library Building.
9
་
April 22d, 1886, a committee was appointed by the
trustees, consisting of the President of the University,
the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and the Hon.
Henry B. Lord, to consider and recommend measures
for the erection of a Library Building. To facilitate
the study of the problem an architect was employed,
and preliminary sketches were made. On the 2d of
November, 1886, it was decided by the Executive Com-
mittee, and subsequently confirmed by the Board, that
the Library Building should be erected on the site south
of Morrill Hall.
On the 26th day of October, 1887, the committee
asked for competitive plans, limiting the competition to
three architects selected for the purpose. Instructions
were given that the Library Building should furnish
accommodations for at least 400,000 volumes; that
there should be a separate room for the accommodation
of the President White Library of History and Political
Science of at least 40,000 volumes; that the building
should be planned with a view to convenience and econ-
omy of administration; that there should be at least
five seminary rooms for the convenience of students car-
rying on advanced studies; that the exterior walls of
the building should be of stone; and that the book-
rooms, at least, should be fire-proof. It was subse-
quently decided to make the structure completely fire-
proof throughout.
Competitive designs were presented, and at the meet-
ing of the Trustees on the 20th of June, 1888, those
furnished by Mr. William H. Miller, of Ithaca, were,
on recommendation of the committee, selected and
adopted.
Mr. Miller's plans were completed in the course of
the winter of 1888-9, and in the spring of 1889 con-
ཙམ ཝཱརནུས
IO
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
tractors were asked to give estimates on the cost of the
building. Competitive bids were made by five respon-
sible contractors; that of William D. Collingwood, of
Buffalo, being the lowest, for $190,400, for masonry,
carpentry and iron work, exclusive of the iron in the
book stacks and exclusive of furniture. To William D.
Collingwood the contract was accordingly awarded.
In addition to the sum named in the contract awarded
to Mr. Collingwood, the sum of $4,500 was expended on
the foundations, and the iron work of the book stacks
was subsequently let at the price of $32,509. The cost
of the building, therefore, exclusive of extras and of
furniture, will be $227,409.
The conditions of the contract call for the completion
of the structure as early as the 1st day of July, 1891.
In the box placed in the corner-stone are deposited
the following articles, viz.:
1. A copy of the will of Jennie McGraw Fiske.
2. A copy of the transcript of record of the Jennie
McGraw Fiske Will Case, as filed with the Supreme
Court of the United States, in October, 1889.
3. A copy of the agreement of the Hon. Henry W.
Sage to give to the University half a million of dollars
for the Library.
4. A copy of the records of the Trustees contain-
ing the conditions of the Sage gift.
5. A copy of the Library Bulletin containing the
letter of the Hon. A. D. White, ex-President of the
University, proposing to give his Historical Library to
the University, together with the terms of the gift as
subsequently agreed upon by Mr. White and the
Trustees of the University.
6. A copy of an article by Mr. George W. Harris,
University Library Building.
II
Acting Librarian of the University Library, describing
the new Library Building.
7. The latest number of the Library Bulletin of
the Cornell University Library.
8. A copy of a pamphlet describing the General
Card Catalogue of the University Library.
9. The Ten Year Book of Cornell University.
10. The Register of Cornell University for 1888-9.
11. The Announcement of Courses of Study for
1889-90; Announcement of the School of Law, and
Announcement of the School of Pharmacy.
12. A copy of the Report of the Treasurer of the
University for the year ending August 1st, 1889, to-
gether with a list of the Appropriations for 1889-90.
13. A copy of the Annual Report of the President
of the University, with the supplementary reports of
professors, for the year 1888–89.
14. A copy of the proceedings of the Associate
Alumni, together with the report of Daniel H. Salmon,
Alumni Trustee, presented in June, 1889.
15. A copy of the Alphabetical List of Students for
the first term of the year 1889-90.
16. A copy each of the latest numbers of the Cornell
Era, the Cornell Daily Sun, The Crank, the Christian
Association Bulletin, The Cornell Magazine, and the
Students' Hand Book.
17. A copy of the Address of Professor Caldwell.
18. A copy of the Address of ex-President White.
19. A copy of the Historical Sketch of the Library,
by President Adams.
20. A copy of the Laws and Documents pertaining
to Cornell University.
21. A copy of the Biography of Ezra Cornell,
12
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
22. Photographs of the University grounds, of Ezra
Cornell, the Founder; of A. D. White, the first Presi-
dent of the University; of Henry W. Sage, the Chair-
man of the Board of Trustees, and of C. K. Adams,
the President of the University.
DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW LIBRARY BUILDING.
BY GEORGE W. HARRIS.
[Reprinted from the Library Journal, April, 1889.]
For several years the lack of shelf-room in the quar-
ters now occupied by the University Library has been
a source of great and constantly increasing incon-
venience; but the litigation which for five years has
involved the whole endowment of the library in uncer-
tainty, placed the immediate construction of a new
building out of the question. Last year, however, the
trustees, in anticipation of the final settlement of the
suit, which has recently been carried up to the Su-
preme Court of the United States, determined to pro-
cure plans for a fire-proof library building to cost two
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. From the
designs submitted to the trustees last June, that of Mr.
W. H. Miller was chosen as the most suitable. At this
point Mr. H. W. Sage, recognizing the need for immedi-
ate action, generously offered to provide the funds for the
construction of the building, on the single condition that
should the suit be decided in favor of the University, the
money advanced for this purpose should be repaid from
the library funds. If, however, the decision should be
adverse, the building becomes a gift from Mr. Sage to
the University. The necessary funds being thus pro-
L
University Library Building.
13
vided, work upom the foundations was begun during
the summer, and it is hoped that within two years the
building will be ready for occupation. The Cornell
University Library will then be permanently housed in
a building second to none in its thorough adaptation to
the purposes for which it is intended. The architect
has worked in harmony with the librarian; and an in-
spection of the accompanying plan of the ground-floor
will show how fully all the great requirements of a
library, such as compact storage of books within easy
access of the delivery desk, economy of administration,
abundance of light and ventilation, accommodation for
special students, and the comfort of general readers,
have been recognized and provided for.
The site chosen for the new library is at the south-
west corner of the as yet incomplete quadrangle formed
by the main University buildings. The ground here
sloping rapidly to the south and west offers some ad-
vantages which have been turned to good account by
the architect. Thus the reading room, which is en-
tered from the ground-level on the east side of the
building, is on the level of the fourth floor of the west
stack room; and as the stack is divided into seven
stories, each seven feet high, the delivery-desk is
placed at the vertical middle of the stack, which thus
becomes practically one of four stories instead of seven.
The division of the stack into two wings, placed at
right angles to each other, while providing greater op-
portunities for future extension, does much towards
bringing the books nearer to the point of delivery; so
that in either stack the most distant book is only one
hundred and twenty feet from the centre of the deliv-
ery desk, and there are no shelves beyond easy reach
from the floor.
14
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
170-7.
The extreme dimensions of the building are one
hundred and seventy feet by one hundred and fifty-
three feet. The general outlines are somewhat in the
form of a cross, the book stacks occupying the south-
ern and western arms, the reading rooms the eastern,

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15
while the northern provides accommodation for the
offices of administration, the White Library, and vari-
ous seminary rooms. It is to be of stone, and the
construction is to be fire-proof throughout. It will be
lighted by electricity, and heated by steam supplied
from the central heating station. A thorough system
of artificial ventilation is also provided for, though only
some of the principal ventilating shafts are shown on
the accompanying plans, where they are designated by
the letter V.
The main entrance is in the northeast angle, where
the vestibule F opens into the entrance hall C, lighted
by a large skylight, the position of which is shown on
the third-floor plan. On the right are the women's
cloak room E, with a separate outside entrance, the
men's cloak room D, and a checking room K, for um-
brellas, etc. In this hall, facing the entrance, is a
large open fireplace with recesses on either side for
seats, where conversation can be carried on freely with-
out disturbing readers. Turning to the left, a short
flight of steps leads to the inner entrance hall, from
which open the general reading room A, the periodical
reading room B, the librarian's room H, and the cata-
loguing room G. The reading room for periodicals, B,
is about fifty by twenty-one feet, lighted from the east
and north by large windows eight feet from the floor;
the number and position of these windows are shown
on the main floor plan. Beneath them runs a range
of wall bookcases with a capacity for six thousand
seven hundred and fifty volumes. The small room J,
opening from this, is intended to be used for stamping
and arranging the periodicals in binders.
The general reading room A, one hundred and
twenty-six by sixty-six feet, will provide seats for two
16
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
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hundred and thirty-two readers, allowing to each a
desk two feet by two feet ten inches. This room is
lighted partly by a range of windows eight feet from
the floor, extending around the south and east sides of
the room, as shown on the main floor plan, and partly
by a higher range of clerestory windows, the position
and number of which are shown on the third-floor plan.
By a comparison of these two plans it will be seen that
the reading room for periodicals and the south side of
the general reading room, form, as it were, two low
aisles adjoining the main portion of the general read-
ing room, which runs up to a much greater height,
thus giving space for the long range of clerestory win-
dows. In the south aisle the reading tables are single,
and face toward the delivery desk, as shown on the
plan, but in the main portion of the room, which is
lighted by the clerestory windows, the tables will be of
double width, with a longitudinal division, and will
run lengthwise of the room. That a sufficient sup-
ply of light is provided is evident from the fact that
the floor area of the room being six thousand six
hundred and twelve square feet, the glass area is one
thousand and twenty-five square feet. Around the
walls of the room, beneath the windows, are bookcases
sufficient to contain a reference library of fourteen
thousand six hundred volumes within reach of all
readers. The delivery desk is at the west end of the
room, which opens directly into the stack rooms I, I.
In front of the delivery-desk is the space reserved for
the catalogue cases. This part of the room is chiefly
lighted by a large skylight, the position of which is
shown by the dotted lines in the plan of the third
story. Additional light, too, is thrown on the delivery-
desk from the windows in the angles of the stacks.
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University Library Building.
17
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The dimensions of the west stack, exclusive of the
three bays, are forty-seven by forty-four feet, and its
book capacity is two hundred and fifty-four thousand
volumes. The south stack, forty-two by forty-four
feet, is one story less in height than the west stack,

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Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
and the lower stories are also somewhat encroached
upon by the reading room; so that its book capacity is
only one hundred and fifty thousand volumes. In
these stacks the window openings are all placed be-
tween the ranges of bookcases; while the large bays,
of which there are three in the west and two in the
south stack, furnish excellent reading alcoves for
special students. In the angles formed by the junc-
tion of the book stacks with the reading-room are stair-
cases and book lifts, running from the bottom to the
top of the stacks: on the plan these lifts are marked
L. For the stacks it is proposed to adopt the gas-pipe
construction which has been found so satisfactory in
the Buffalo Library.
Adjoining the reading room is the librarian's room
H, commanding both reading rooms and the catalogu-
ing room, being thus placed, as it ought to be, at the
very centre of administration, and where the librarian
is easily accessible to students who may need his as-
sistance. The walls of this room are for the most part
little more than glass screens, especially on the west
and north sides, so that an abundant supply of light
will be obtained from the large west windows. The
cataloguing room G is forty-five by twenty-two feet,
with a large bay twenty by fifteen feet, and may be di-
vided into two rooms, as indicated on the plan, should
it be found desirable to do so. Here, too, an ample
supply of light is provided by large windows extend-
ing to the ceiling. In a recess on the east side of this
room is the book lift M, communicating with the un-
packing room in the basement, which is also reached
by the stairway directly from the cataloguing room.
From the inner entrance hall a staircase leads to the
President White Historical Library, the entrance to
University Library Building.
19
which is on the second floor, though it is also indicated
on the third floor plan. This library occupies the
large room W, which is sixty-six by twenty-three feet,
exclusive of the large bay, and extends through two
stories into the roof. Here the books are to be ar-
ranged somewhat upon the alcove system, and it is
likely to become the favorite study room for historical
students, as it will certainly be one of the most attrac-
tive rooms in the building. Direct and easy access is
given, by the staircase at the southwest corner, to the
general reading room and to the west stack. With the
galleries as now arranged it has a book capacity of
forty thousand volumes, which can be increased to fifty
thousand if necessary. On the second floor, adjoining
the White Library on the east, is a single seminary
room R, shown on the plan in a detached position, but
really situated immediately below the room marked P.
The third floor plan shows the upper part of the
White Library W, and the three seminary rooms N, O,
P, all opening from 'the central hall, the rooms N, P,
and R being about twenty by thirty feet, while O is
slightly smaller. This third floor plan shows also the
upper part of the reading room A, with the clerestory
windows and the upper story of the stacks I, I.
a
Returning to the entrance hall C, on the main floor,
staircase leads to the basement; here, on the west
side, which is entirely above ground, are three seminary
rooms, occupying the space directly beneath the libra-
rian's room and the cataloguing room, well lighted and
ventilated. Beneath the cloak-rooms D and E is the
unpacking room, with an outside entrance for the re-
ception of books, communicating directly with the cata-
loguing room by the lift M, and the staircase as shown
20
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
on the plan. Beneath the periodical room B is a large
room also lighted by high windows on the north and
east, corresponding to those shown in B; this too will
probably be used as a seminary room, making eight in
all, averaging twenty by thirty feet each. The remain-
ing portion of the basement, beneath the reading room
A, is to be fitted up as a lecture room or hall, and will
easily contain seats for an audience of nine hundred.
It is lighted by windows on the south and east sides.
corresponding to those in the general reading room A.
The main entrance to this hall (not shown upon the
plan) is situated beside the tower, at the southeast cor-
ner of the building, though access can be had also
from the main entrance hall, through the basement.
In the tower, which will form a very conspicuous fea-
ture of the building, it is proposed to place a chime of
bells presented at the opening of the University by Mrs.
Fiske, and probably also the University clock. The
entrance to the tower being in the basement story is not
shown on the plan. The series of small tower rooms
may be used as janitor's quarters, or, as has been sug
gested, they might serve as excellent storage rooms for
documents, records, etc.
Without the aid of a perspective drawing it would be
difficult to give any adequate idea of the exterior of the
building. It may be said, however, that the architect
has succeeded admirably in his treatment of a difficult
problem, especially in regard to the stacks, and the re-
sult promises to be as satisfactory from an architect's
point of view as it is from that of a librarian.
It will be seen from the figures which have been giv-
en as to the book capacity of the stacks, reading rooms,
etc., that the building will provide storage for at least
University Library Building.
2I
475,000 volumes, or nearly five times the present ex-
tent of the library, with facilities for almost indefinite
extension of the book-stacks in the future.
ADDRESS IN BEHALF OF THE FACULTY.
2
BY PROFESSOR G. C. CALDWELL.
By the will of the Faculty it has fallen to my lot to
represent my colleagues at this time. I wish that the
duty had been assigned to some one better able than I
to speak in a manner worthy of the occasion. But
still it should not be difficult to discharge this duty at
least appropriately; the work of which we now com-
memorate the beginning being one of such great im-
portance in its bearing on the future welfare of this
University, and the interest in it being shared alike by
every one of my associates in the Faculty.
It may indeed be said without fear of contradiction,
that none connected with an institution of learning are
more deeply and vitally concerned in the condition of
its library, than those who constitute its board of in-
struction. Buildings for other purposes may be the
most commodious, and the most perfect in all their ar-
rangements, that can be devised. A throng may
crowd their halls, so eager in the thirst for knowledge
as to inspire any teacher with the highest enthusiasm;
but with all this, and nothing more provided, he would
meet with but poor success in his work, and find little
real pleasure in it. Without a well furnished library
besides, not only for his own use, but where he can
send his students to search out the truth for them-
selves in the printed records of the past and the
22
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
present, his work would ever seem to him seriously
incomplete.
The time has past when the most that can be de-
manded of a student in our universities is that he shall
come up to his class-rooms three or four times a day
for four years, and recite his lessons from a text-book
bought at the university bookstore, or second-hand of
his predecessor in the same study, to be handed down
to his successor, and so on as long as its leaves will
keep company together.
The student of to-day must be sent into the library
and laboratory as well as the recitation room; and the
development of the library may be regarded as quite as
important as the development of the laboratory in the
history of university progress in this country. It is
not so many years since the more advanced student in
chemistry or physics found it necessary to go to Ger-
many or France for suitable laboratories in which to
continue his studies, or, with but one or two exceptions,
for any laboratories at all. Now they are easily acces-
sible in all parts of our own country, for the study not
only of these but of other sciences, well appointed in
every respect, and equal to some of the best abroad.
And as the laboratory has been developed, so has
the library, although in more rapid measure, because
it had a far better start thirty years ago; but both
have grown, in response to the demands made upon
them in the higher degrees of the higher educa-
tion. If the principles of the survival of the fittest is
to be exemplified in respect to the institutions for this
higher education, the fitness of their libraries will con-
tribute in a very large measure to this survival, by the
side of the fitness of their laboratories, and of the
University Library Building.
23
teachers who are appointed to show the students how
to use these educational means and appliances.
Under the methods of advanced instruction, preva-
lent now in the literary, historical, and philosophical
departments of the University, the library through its
seminary rooms is to those departments, in a measure,
what the laboratories are to the scientific departments.
In these the student is taught to perform some of the
very experiments with his own hands, and make some
of the very observations, by which the knowledge com-
municated to him in the text-book or the lecture was
originally established; and when he has learned to do
this successfully and intelligently, he is set to work
with similar means to establish new facts and princi-
ples.
So in the well appointed library, the student of
language, history, or philosophy is taken to the same
source from which the teacher derives the material for
his text-book or his lecture; there he is taught how to
use books, as the student in science is taught how to
use the instruments that are put into his hands; and
when this lesson has been well learned, he also is set
to work, from the study of books, to put together what
may serve, by new relations discovered between facts,
principles or ideas recorded in these books, as new
knowledge, to be used by other students who may fol-
low him along the same lines of thought. Thus, to
those who teach in these departments of learning, the
library serves a double purpose: it is the source from
which they derive their own materials and inspiration
for their work, and is, besides, the workshop in which
their students are taught how to gain other knowledge
and inspiration for themselves.
24
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
But to the teacher or the student in science or the
practical arts the laboratory is not everything. He
also must refer to the records of the work of others
who have gone before him; while he may gain his new
knowledge in the laboratory, he is still dependent on
the library for the successful prosecution of his study
and investigation; without it he may waste much time
in doing over again what has already been well done,
or in following paths that have already been well
trodden. He needs to consult these records in books,
old and new, no less assiduously than his brother stu-
dent, whose only laboratory is the library.
So to every teacher here of every kind, and to every
earnest student working under his guidance, this Uni-
versity Library bears the most vital relations to the
success of his work. Without it he can do little or
nothing worthy of his position, and even with it, if it be
poorly equipped and imperfectly arranged, he is poorly
provided for his work. And none but those who have
had frequent occasion to use our library in its present
condition can fully appreciate the sharpness of the pang
of disappointment that went through all our hearts, as
the news came to us one after another in different parts
of the country, in that summer vacation six years ago,
of the action threatening to take away the great en-
dowment which was to give us, so soon, a library
worthy in all respects of this great University and
fully adequate to its largest needs: or now, as we com-
pare the actuality of the present with the promise of
the future, the impatience with which we are watching
the apparently slow, while yet sure and steady upris-
ing of these walls.
And yet we should not forget or undervalue the gen-
erosity of one of Cornell's first benefactors, providing
University Library Building.
25
T
in the very earliest days of her existence for that
other building which, besides serving many other pur-
poses, has sheltered our precious books for so many
years. McGraw Hall has served this purpose to the
very best of its capacity; and even after the library
shall have been taken elsewhere, it will still continue
to do honor to the giver in no smaller measure than
heretofore.
Measured as such periods usually are, my term of
service here has not been short. It has witnessed the
erection of all but two of the buildings on these grounds.
How many more years may yet be added to those already
spent here, no one can foretell; but even should they be
enough to satisfy my most ardent desire, I cannot be-
lieve that I shall ever see the building of another edifice
so imposing as this, or one better fitted in all its parts for
the
purpose that it is to serve, or one of a greater useful-
ness to the whole University. Nor does it seem to me
possible that I shall witness any other act that might
be taken with such eminent fitness, as this provision
against all contingencies of a perfect home and an
ample endowment for our library, for the crowning
act of that devoted friend of the University, whose
wisdom in council and whose magnificent generosity in
material things, rank him with our honored Founder,
who laid the foundations of this University so broad
that we know not where we would add thereto, and
with our honored first President, who, besides giving
twenty of the best years of his life to guiding the
affairs of the University from its birth almost to its
majority, has also enriched this library itself by the
gift of his own books of great worth: making a trio
of names that shall not be forgotten as long as these
26
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
walls shall stand, or as long as the chimes shall "ring
out the old and ring in the new" from the massive
tower in which this corner stone is placed.
ADDRESS OF THE HON. ANDREW D. WHITE.
Mr. President:
I should but poorly discharge the duty which you
have assigned me, did I not at once give utterance to
the gratitude which fills the hearts of all present.
In behalf, then, of all here or elsewhere who love
Cornell University or look with hope to it,—in behalf
of all friends of the University in its days of struggle
and trial who have not been permitted to see these days
of success and triumph,—in behalf of all those in the
future who shall here prepare themselves for careers
useful to their country and to mankind;-in the name
of all these,-past, present, and to come,-I lay a
tribute of gratitude on the tomb of her who conceived
and endeavored to carry out the idea of a great and
worthy University Library on this spot. Whatever
may be the result of the contest now going on over her
noble purpose, I trust that some day there will be
placed over her grave on these grounds, a fitting monu-
ment bearing these words: "She hath done what she
could."
And not less, in the same behalf, do I thank him
whose heart and hand are raising the walls of this
noble structure;-the same heart and the same hand
which lifted the walls of the adjacent Chapel,-of yon-
der College for women,-and of so many other struct-
ures and endowments which have given us all strength
and courage.
University Library Building.
27
What is this building to be? I indulge in no
boasting, but state a simple fact when I say that,
beyond a doubt, it is to be the finest University or Col-
lege Library building yet erected in the United States;
the largest, the most carefully planned, the most
thorough in its equipment, the most beautiful in its
adornment.
We have indeed a right to rejoice in this structure,
but we also have a right to be proud of what it is to
enclose, of the treasure which the casket is to hold.
For I do but state another simple historical fact when
I say that this Library which it is to contain, though
but of such recent growth, is certainly one of the three
largest and best, probably one of the two largest and
best university libraries in our country. Over a hun-
dred thousand volumes will be placed in it immediately
upon its completion, and these volumes have been
chosen with the greatest care, without stint, under the
advice of most competent scholars, and in every part
of the civilized world.
In this growth, so rapid and yet so substantial,
what has been, and what is the principle of life,—what
has vitalized a development so vigorous? I think that
I can answer the question. Of all now present, indeed
of all now living, it happens that I am the one who
was connected most directly with the Library at its
earliest moment. As a simple matter of University
history I may say that it happened to me to purchase
the first book that was ever bought for it, to prepare
the statute under which this development has been
made, and to have had much to do during all these
years in securing the volumes it contains.
The fundamental principal of this, as of every other
library, is, that what is good in the future must be de-
5
28
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
veloped out of what is good in the past;—that all
progress, whether in Science, or Literature, or Art, or
Morals, or Religion, is drawn from roots fixed in the
past thought or action of mankind.
The idea of sudden creations of great epochs in
thought and action by great geniuses, is gone. More
and more we see that in the life of our race on this
planet, only that is really good and strong in the
present and the future which is the result of growth, of
development out of the past. This is the Divine Law
of human progress. In accumulating, then, the treas-
ures of human thought in the past, every worthy public
library prepares
prepares the way for the development of addi-
tional and greater treasures of human thought in the
future.
But how in regard to the building up of a University
Library as distinguished from every other form of pub-
lic library? I think the answer to this question is,
that the two conditions of every adequate university
library are, first, depth, and secondly, breadth. In
obedience to the first of these conditions,-depth,-it
should accumulate the best books, those which go
down deep and touch the sources of human thought:
as to the second condition,-breadth,-the collection
of works which it includes should spread as far as
possible over the whole field of human thought. Ezra
Cornell recognized this fact in the first large purchase
ever made for this Library. It was made in a broad
view, indeed; so broad that it may well astonish many
who had not the privilege of knowing him, for this
purchase was made in a field most remote from his
own thought, study, or experience. His chosen fields
of study were those of a thoughtful man devoted to
University Library Building.
29
T
progress in Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts; but
his first great act in regard to this Library, was the
purchase of the Anthon Collection of Greek and Latin
Classics. He felt that the University Library must, as
far as possible, cover the whole breadth of human
knowledge. The other large acquisitions which fol-
lowed showed the same spirit. Among these I may
name the Kelley Collection in Mathematics, the Gold-
win Smith Collection in English History, President
Sparks' Collection in American History, the Bopp Col-
lection in Philology, the carefully selected collections.
in various branches of Natural Science, Ancient and
Modern History, Law, Architecture,-in every field of
Art, Science, and Literature:-all these showed the will
to lay a foundation here of a library as broad as the pur-
pose of him whose words are inscribed as a legend on the
University Seal: "I would found an institution where
any person can find instruction in any study."
Here, too, is seen the advantage of a library forming
a part of a University over a library standing by itself.
Every well-developed university has a large body of
professors, each of whom, in his own department, may
be considered as an expert, fitted to direct the purchase
of books in it to the best advantage. No one librarian,
greatly gifted though he may be, can have a range of
knowledge through the best works in all fields so
thorough, as that which a large faculty must have,
each member of which is interested deeply in some one
branch of study.
You see, then, that the building up of a library
worthy of a great university, is no slight matter that
if it is to attract scholars,—if it is to serve the pur-
poses of those who, in every field in a great, growing
30
Laying of the Corner-Stone of the
country like this, are endeavoring to better the think-
ing and the practice of their fellow-men, it must pre-
sent a vast and ever increasing array of the best works
by the best authors in every country.
I have heard some criticisms upon the gentle and
far-seeing woman who conceived the plan of this great
Library. I have heard it said that she gave more than
was needed for the purpose; that there was really no
need of such a vast donation. But she was wiser than
her critics. She saw what all of us who take an ade-
quate view of the work to be done by an institution
like this must feel more and more, that millions are
not too much to found and to maintain a library of the
sort we need. The field of knowledge is vast and con-
stantly increasing in breadth and depth, and it requires
vast sums to make such a library what it ought to be.
It needs the best in every field,-the best that is old
and the best that is new: no expenditure is too great
for such a purpose.
I hope that this fact will be remembered by all
friends of the University. In this great student audi-
ence there are doubtless many who hereafter will be in
condition to make collections of books in worthy de-
partments, and who will feel some gratitude toward
their Alma Mater. Let me here and now remind
them that there is no more suitable repository of any
worthy special collection than a great edifice of this
kind; permanent and so ensuring care;-connected
with an institution of learning, and so ensuring for
every book deposited in it a career of constant useful-
ness among those best fitted to enjoy it, to profit by it,
and to bring whatever of good it contains to bear upon
their fellow-men.
>
University Library Building.
3I
I trust that we shall all rise to the height of the
great argument. I believe that new benefactors will
arise to emulate the example of him who gives us this
noble building, and that this Library will be for gen-
erations, nay, for centuries, a source of inspiration
to all who would bring the good thought of the past
to bear in making the future better. As this tower
shall stand for ages, strong, beautiful, a beacon to those
afar, so may this Library stand, a center of strength
to multitudes of workers, near and distant: as from
its belfry shall chime forth over hill and lake and
valley the voices of its bells, so from the men whose
thoughts are enshrined here may voices ring forth
to encourage those who toil for the good of their
fellow-men: and as from its illuminated dials there
shall beam forth in the darkest night rays which shall
guide the traveler and tell him of the hour, so I trust
that from this treasure-house of thought shall stream
forth a constant light to illumine the best thinkers in
the best paths of literature, science, art, morality, and
religion.
32
Laying of the Corner-Stone.
>
THE LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE.
At the close of Ex-President White's address the au-
dience went from Barnes Hall to the site of the Library
Building. As the corner-stone was lowered into place,
the following words were pronounced
BY THE HON. HENRY W. SAGE.
I lay this corner stone in the name of Almighty
God and in memory and in behalf of Jennie Mc-
Graw, that pure and noble woman whose purposes,
thus far thwarted and defeated, yet begin to bear the
fruit which she tried to plant.
After the singing of the University Song, "Far above
Cayuga's Waters," by the assembled multitude, the ex-
ercises of the day were brought to a close with the Ben-
ediction, pronounced by the Rev. Mr. Tyler.