Into the Stacks

13 million volumes … and counting

The University of Michigan is home to more than 20 libraries filled with some 13 million volumes. The Alumni Association brings back memories of late nights in the stacks in this video that celebrates our beautiful spaces and amazing collections.

Tell us your memories of the library experience at U-M.

Comments

  1. Darrel Staat - 1973

    When I enrolled in the Rackham School of Graduate Studies back in 1971 I was impressed with the sheer number of volumes at my disposal, but what really impressed me back then were the copy machines on every floor. What a joy to copy research information instead of writing everything on 4-8 cards. Thank you Libraries of U of M.

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  2. Carmen Shamwell - 2003

    Another great video! Thanks, AAUM! Lots of great memories studying in these libraries 🙂

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  3. Marcey Terrien - 1972

    Great reminder of what makes our school The Best. But, clearly, this video was meant for younger eyes, I wanted to hit the “slo-mo” button. A near case of vertigo trying to read the beginning facts while the camera raced thru the narrow aisles of the stacks.

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  4. Deborah Dubois - 1977

    I was studying Library Science and also worked in the Library Science Library in Hatcher Graduate Library, so I spent much of my time there. It was a great environment for study, and I felt it was my second home as I commuted to school and hung out there between classes. I loved having so many books available and the experience of learning how a great library worked. Thank you, UofM for excellent training for my career.

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  5. david zipf - 1988

    The sheer breadth of materials astounded me. I researched the comparable rates of household saving between US household and European households. Of course I found what I needed! I found savings rates in Germany and luckily my roommate could translate for me.

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  6. Chris Campbell - MA 1972, JD 1975

    Shortly after I began grad school in 1971, I sought employment to add some income. I was sent over to the UGLI as a student assistant. Working behind a counter taught me many valuable life lessons–the value of kindness, the virtues of bending the rules when appropriate. My weekly work schedule was a joy because it gave me some hours in the day when I did not have to study. I worked there for the next 4 years. I also learned my way around the stacks of the Hatcher grad library, and the great joy of inadvertent and fortuitous discoveries while digging through the card catalog.

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  7. Michael Sawdey - 1966

    Having access to the stacks as an undergraduate was probably the most important part of my education at Michigan. For four years I prowled the stacks, reading a strange collection of items, often following ideas and events from one book to another, helped by the LC cataloging system, which grouped related items in a most useful way. I did my undergraduate honors thesis on S. T. Coleridge, and as everyone did in those days, took at least a stab at following Coleridge’s reading trail, in the manner of John Livingston Lowes (“The Road to Xanadu”). I vividly recall spending days poring over an 18th century volume on Obi witchcraft (a topic of interest to Coleridge)–coming finally to a particularly scary page where a reader two centuries ago had nervously dripped candle wax across the page! That’s a sort of immediacy that Google books can’t give!

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  8. Linscott Hanson - 1959 LSA; 1961 Law

    Now we should consider finding a way to house the stacks in a facility like the new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago. To view a video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESCxYchCaWI&feature=youtu.be

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  9. Cassie Foley - 1972

    I spent most of my study time at the Undergraduate Library because I was under the impression that Graduate Library was off-limits; however, the UGLI was one of my favorite places on campus. In 1969 or 1970 I was taking a Shakespeare class and would go to the UGLI to a listening lab to hear recordings of his plays. One afternoon I was deeply engrossed in “King Lear” when an announcement was made that the library would be closing due to a bomb threat. I remember continuing to listen to the recording instead of leaving immediately because I was so caught up in the story! After a few minutes, the recording was turned off, and regretfully, I had to leave.

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  10. Dale Beck - 1968 BSIE

    Back in the Fall of 1964 I applied for a job at the Graduate Library (The Grad) as a book shelver in the Reserve Room. I later moved to the General Stacks Dept where my part time job was to re-shelve books on all 12(?) floors of the stacks. I enjoyed that job and soon learned all the “nooks” and “crannies” of the stacks and the Library in general. Throughout my 4 and a half years at U of M, I studied in carrels of the Grad. It was quiet and an excellent place to study. I will always cherish my memories of Michigan and especially the “Grad.” Thanks for the pictorial update. The Library system has certainly come a long ways !

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  11. JOHN MCKINNON - 1965

    THE U OF M LIBRARY SYSTEM IS A VERY PRECIOUS RESOURCE FOR THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.
    I USED THE LIBRARY FOR ENGINEERING RESEARCH WHEN I WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE.
    I WORKED FOR AN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR ON PROJECTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY SCIENCE TO PREDICT THE NEEDED GROWTH OF SHELF SPACE BASED ON THE CATEGORIES OF LC CODES AND NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOKS.
    I USED THE LIBRARY WHEN I WORKED FOR A NATIONAL, BANK IN
    DETROIT TO RESEARCH FINANCIAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS IMPACTING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS AND TRANSACTIONS.
    BOTH OF MY SONS DURING THEIR GADE SCHOOL AND HIGH SHOOL EDUCATION USED THE LIBRARY WEB GATEWAY TO RESEARCH INFORMATION RELATING TO ART, SCIENTIFIC AND MATHEMATICAL INFORMATION WITH ASSISTANCE FROM MY WIFE WHO IS A GRADUATE OF CHAPEL HILL (MAGNA CUM LAUDE IN ANTHROPOLOGY)
    MY YOUNGEST SON USED THE NORTH CAMPUS LIBRARY COMPLEX TO LOCATE ARTICLES AND REFERENCES FOR HIS MASTERS THESIS IN PHYSICS PHYSICS FROM EASTERN MICHIGAN.
    I AM 73 AND STILL WORKING AS A QUALITY ASSURANCE ENGINEER
    FOR A CONSULTING FIRM IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY. I KEEP MY BOSS (THE PRESIDENT) INFORMED OF
    SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETIC S AND
    NETWORK SECURITY BY READING CURRENT REFERENCES AVAILABLE IN THE ENGINEERING LIBRARY.
    THE HELP FROM THE LIBRARY STAFF HAS BEEN VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
    THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT VIDEO ILLUSTRATING THE VALUE OF THE U OF M LIBRARY SYSTEM AND SHOULD BE SEEN BY EVERYONE
    WHO WANTS TO BECOME MORE EDUCATED TO DEAL WITH OUR MODERN WORLD.
    THANKS VERY MUCH.
    JOHN ROSS MCKINNON
    734-635-0054

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  12. Eric Smith - 1996

    The vast maze of The Stacks were the best place to find a hidden nook for some studying and alone time now and then. You’d locate your favorite spot and sometimes leave a bookbag and coffee mug (shhh, empty of course because no beverages in the stacks!) just to hold that prized location for yourself. Still remember getting lost in the UGLi – actually lost in there – as a freshman. What wonderful memories.

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