Photo commemorates the beginning of the Morris Library renovations

With the click of a shutter, more than three hundred students, faculty and alumni became part of SIUC history Friday in the Morris Library Community Photo.

The photograph, taken in front of the library’s fountain, was made to commemorate the history of Morris Library while celebrating the 50-year-old building’s renovation. The event, which was open to all students, faculty and community members, featured the Saluki marching band and offered free T-shirts and refreshments.

David Carlson, dean of library affairs, said the commemorative photograph was taken because the library will be fundamentally changed once its renovation is complete in 2007. The renovation will involve extensive remodeling of the library, including the replacement of the building’s faade and all of the library’s mechanical systems.

“We are doing it primarily because the renovated Morris will be completely different,” Carlson said. “We were just looking for ways to mark the past and look to the future, standing in front of the building as a statement to the library’s importance.”

A motivating factor in Carlson’s decision to have the event was the unique effect the library has had on various faculty and alumni he has met throughout the years.

“It’s just amazing to me how many alumni will come up to me and tell me how much the library means to them,” Carlson said. “It clearly is a building that has a lot of importance to people.”

Vicki Cramer, a freshman in nursing, participated in the event to support the library. Others, such as Will Cowan, a senior in history from Wheaton, wanted to be a part of campus history.

“It’s always interesting being a part of history, especially being a History major,” Cowan said. “The library is probably the most important resource on campus.”

For many SIUC alumni who attended the event, the current Morris Library’s

“end” is the beginning of a better future for the library and those whom the library serves.

David Koch, associate dean for the Special Collections Research Center, was a graduate student at SIUC in 1961. As a student, Koch watched construction of the library’s third floor and enjoyed the campus’ scenery from the building’s new tower.

“When they put the tower up, we could look out and see all the orchards from here to Murphysboro,” Koch said.

Koch remembers the days when the only electrical equipment the library had were two typewriters. He said as technology has advanced throughout the past 50 years, the library has not been able to meet the needs of a fast-changing world.

While Koch has fond memories of Morris Library, he believes the renovation is a much-needed answer to the library’s modern problems. More space for research materials and better services for students and faculty will not take away the cherished memories many have of the current library, Koch said.

“It’s not going to be really gone,” he said. “There are so many things that are going to remind people of the old Morris. It’s going to be a much better library in so many ways.

“I look forward to coming here during my retirement and doing research.”