Kresge Library is celebrating its 60th anniversary and inviting the community to come celebrate with them. With events and exhibits happening all school year, the library is focused on highlighting their history through the decades.

When it comes to Kresge Library’s history, there are two big dates that stand out among the rest. In May, 1961, the library was officially dedicated to the University. On Oct. 27, 1961, books were first brought to the library — which officially caused it to open. 

“I think the significance of the library has evolved over time, before the era of electronic resources and the Internet, obviously the library was the only place where faculty and students could go to find the resources they needed to work and to study and to teach.” Dominique Daniel, Professor and Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections, said. “So, having a good library was one of the main needs that the new university like Oakland had, and it started from scratch.”

On Oct. 6, 2021, the library will be holding a virtual trivia event. The questions will be based around historical and fun facts about the library. 

On social media, Kresge Library will be present — posting images every month about the library’s history. Some posts will just be for fun, but others will be interactive, allowing people to comment their guesses on which part of the library is being shown in the photo.

In Kresge Library’s lobby there will be a 60th anniversary exhibit. It will contain information about the library through the decades and will be around until the end of the academic year. It contains photographs, booklets, publications and objects that represent parts of the library’s history.

There will also be a virtual exhibit launching this fall that will mostly include photos from the 1960’s until today — displaying the library through the ages, and the changes that were made over time. In the spring, there will be an event surrounding the dedication of the library that is not officially planned but is in the works right now.

“We’ll have some kind of outdoor event where we’ll invite people to share food and celebrate the history of the library,” Daniel said.

The library’s anniversary has not been specifically celebrated before this year. When the university celebrates milestones, it tends to include the library in that, when in reality, the library came two years after the university.

“It is a space that welcomes everybody and where lots of people go to do all the tasks they need to do, not just studying but also simply socializing,” Daniel said.

To keep up to date with the events surrounding the library’s 60th anniversary, tune into their Instagram and OU’s website. You can also go to Kresge Library’s website for more information on events and/or exhibits.

“The library, the building itself sits at the highest point of campus,” Daniel said. “And so it was intended to be real central and really the heart — the physical heart as well as the intellectual heart — of the campus community.”