Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 00: Introduction (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Illinois State University has known five libraries in its 160-year history. From its humble origins in a 160-square foot space carved out from an entryway, to its current six-floor site, each library has offered improvements over its predecessor. Each location seeking to anticipate and accommodate the changing needs of its students through improved services, collections, facilities and technology. We owe our student-centered philosophy to the University’s first fulltime librarian, Ange. V. Milner. Over the course of Milner’s nearly 40-year career, she created a library integrated into the curriculum and research needs of the University. The ideals she held and practices she introduced have served as a model to successive generations of librarians. This exhibit offers a glimpse into Milner’s forward-thinking initiatives that laid the foundation for today’s library named in her honor.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 01: Old Main (3 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  As the first fulltime librarian, Ange. V. Milner had gone above and beyond her charged duties to “rearrange, classify, and catalogue” the collections. She created a library space conducive to study and expanded library hours from one day a week to Monday through Friday, eight hours a day. The course catalog indicated that a “librarian is always in attendance” in a “well-chosen library, carefully adapted to the needs of the school.” To better help students in their coursework she created 400 individual “reference sheets,” now better known as annotated bibliographies, to guide students in the use of the collection. The article she wrote on this in Public Libraries became recommended reading for librarians in Alice B. Kroeger’s seminal Guide to the Study and Use of Reference Books: A Manual for Librarians, Teachers, and Students (1902).

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 02: Larger than Life 10 (3 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Ange. V. Milner, the University’s first full time librarian, was small in stature, but had a commanding presence. Known for kindness, as well as her tactless directness, students knew where to turn for help and that a price would be paid if her rules weren’t followed. Affectionately known as “Aunt Ange,” she was a legend in her own time.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 03: Follow the Rules (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Though beloved by students, Ange. V. Milner was known for her strict attention to regulations, typical for the era, but restrictive by today’s standards.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 04: Cook Hall (4 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Cook Hall was built in 1898 to serve the dual purposes of the gymnasium (as the building was referred to at the time) and the library. The library was a single room (49′×90′) located on the second floor above the gym.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 05: Helping Hand (3 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Milner developed a library collection of varied formats to meet a variety of needs. She provided classroom instruction and reference assistance to help students make use of the collections but felt “…the pupils are best off when they learn how to help themselves." Under Milner’s helpful direction students used the collections and her services hand in hand to conduct their research.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 06: Building a Collection (2 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  After Ange. V. Milner physically consolidated all the separate book collections into the reception room in Old Main, she began creating an inventory of the collection using this accession book purchased through Melvil Dewey’s company, the Library Bureau. Her first entries appear on Thursday, October 16, 1890.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 07: North Hall

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Ange. V. Milner was typically described as frail and by 1917 her poor health had impeded her ability to work. Her active work in the library officially ended on October 15, 1927. She died January 13, 1928. The University closed for her funeral held in the University (now Capen) Auditorium. Newspaper accounts report the auditorium was overflowing. The University was aware of its loss and the importance of her life on the campus, “Her record will long remain as one of the potent influences in the making of a great institution.”

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 08: What’s in a Chair (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  In 1890, students were thrilled to discover their new library with “tables and chairs conveniently placed, and in every way possible the wants of the students anticipated.” Since 1892 each library space has included rooms devoted to reading, and as a result, the functionality and number of chairs have remained an important consideration in library designs. North Hall’s popularity as a student study space pointed to its severe deficiencies with “students sitting on the window sills….”

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 09: Williams Hall (4 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Following Ange. V. Milner’s view of the library as a “social center,” the new building included a museum with four exhibit rooms and an art gallery in the basement. On the second floor students enjoyed an informal, relaxing atmosphere in both the Browsing Room with recreational reading and the sound-proof Carnegie Room with an electric Victrola (record player) and 1000 albums.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 10: Milner Library (3 panels)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Many student-centered services valuable in previous libraries are no longer necessary. The “microcomputer lab” appeared in 1989 replacing the need for typewriters in the three typing rooms. The 58-cabinet card catalog was dismantled in 2002 when it became superfluous following the advent of the online catalog. Access to sources and assistance expanded dramatically in 1996 when the Library developed its first webpage. Milner Library was the first campus building to offer wireless access in 2004, allowing students to use or borrow laptops, tablets and other devices anywhere in the library.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 11: Opening Up (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Since its unassuming beginnings, the library has grown to meet the changing needs of the University. The physical building has gradually expanded from its 160 square foot entryway to our current 224,000 square foot building. Over the years, the collection has grown in size and breadth to accommodate the transition from a teacher education institution into a multipurpose university with degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. To adjust to student demands, the Library’s hours of service have extended to include weekends and evenings.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 12: Milner Library’s Future (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  At a Founder’s Day banquet held in February 1924, Ange. V. Milner gave an address on the topic, "Normal Students of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” According to the news account, the 185 in attendance learned of Milner’s appreciation for past Illinois State students who achieved progress despite the struggles they faced. The account doesn’t reveal what she thought about current students, but indicated she felt students of the future would "probably follow in the footsteps of the students of 'Yesterday' and 'Today.' " In her almost 40-year career, Milner worked with many generations of students during a period of rapid technological change.

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  Serving Students: The Legacy of Milner’s Library 13: Acknowledgments (1 panel)

  Angela L. Bonnell

  Recognition of colleagues who contributed to this exhibit.