Growing Pains

In conceiving the library’s shelving structure, Mann’s architects did plan for some steady growth in the collection. What they got, however, was a breathtaking explosion in publishing in the post-War decades that quickly outstripped projected growth rates. By the mid-1990’s, Mann Library had approximately 700,000 volumes on the shelves—almost twice as many books and journals as it was designed to hold.

At the same time, it had also become clear that the nine-tier metal stacks structure in the original Mann building was inflexible, difficult to navigate, and even dangerous, should the metal begin buckling under the heat of a building fire.

In addition to serious safety issues, the antiquated stacks design also made other badly needed infrastructural improvements, such as the addition of modern climate control (HVAC) system, impossible. Researchers found Mann study carrels particularly stuffy and unnervingly cage-like. “I must have lost 10 pounds sweating it out in old Roberts Hall and Mann Library one summer,” reminisced CALS alumnus Paul West (Class of 1952, MSc 1963) during a recent visit to Cornell.

© 2007 Albert R. Mann Library
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