It has now been 40 years since the 1986 dedication of the Blagg- Huey Library, named for Texas Woman’s University’s first female president. Since then, the Library has become a landmark feature of the TWU campus, and the three-story building echoes a sense of tradition through its Georgian style and Classical motifs.
To celebrate the occasion, the Blagg-Huey Library hosted a Ruby Anniversary celebration on Thursday, April 23. Students, staff and faculty gathered on the Library’s first floor to commemorate 40 years of service, collaboration and community, as well as National Library Week.
Guests enjoyed a light breakfast and were invited to explore the “Blagg-Huey Library: From the Beginning, Honoring 40 Years” exhibit which showcased historic artifacts and photos. In honor of National Library Week, there was a small table where attendees could write their favorite things about the library and pin it to a felt wall.
Jennifer Morton-Riggs, director of library strategic engagement, and Audrey Tolle, strategic engagement & assessment librarian, have been heading the event and spent months preparing for the anniversary.
“We’re trying to kind of take a minute and recognize all of the library and all the faculty, all the staff that have really worked hard in this library to make it what it is,” said Tolle. “We’re celebrating not only our resources, our services and our spaces, but our people. We all come here because we want to help students. That’s our entire goal. So we’re celebrating everything and everybody in the library.”
With a variety of inviting spaces, a wealth of online and physical resources, and a skilled staff, the Blagg-Huey Library remains a doorway to an incredible array of information, dedicated to supporting TWU students and researchers in quickly and efficiently obtaining resources and services.
Since its opening 40 years ago, the Library has continuously evolved, so as to best serve its community. The way students search for information, study and enjoy third spaces has changed drastically since the 1980s, and the library refuses to be left behind.
“So much research is being done through the databases that we… now have over 300,” said Tolle. “The books aren’t really being used as much and we have reduced the size of the collection and to make room for meeting spaces and study spaces and everything else. But I’d like to think that there is a certain timelessness about [the library]. It’s still a place where people come together [and] it’s basically the living room of the campus.”
As the years continue to pass and the Library continues standing strong, the staff remain dedicated to fostering intellectual freedom, curiosity and lifelong learning, providing a truly white glove service, and adding and sustaining value within the Library as well as the greater TWU community.
“I think that it’s always been true for 40 years that we have had some incredible women and…library deans that have recognized that we can’t just be a building with books,” said Morton-Riggs. “We have to evolve with our students because…what we’re here to do is to serve them.”
For more information on the Blagg-Huey Library, visit their website.
Isabella Castillo can be contacted via email at icastillo4@twu.edu
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