Ralph Brown Draughon Library

By the late 1950s, Alabama Polytechnic Institute’s Carnegie Library exceeded its storage capacity. The Board of Trustees recognized the immediate need for a larger facility, and in the early 1960s the university planned the construction of a major new library building. Built throughout 1962 and 1963...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Taylor McGaughy
Format: Electronic
Published: Auburn University Libraries
Subjects:
Online Access:https://omeka.lib.auburn.edu/items/show/7
Description
Summary:By the late 1950s, Alabama Polytechnic Institute’s Carnegie Library exceeded its storage capacity. The Board of Trustees recognized the immediate need for a larger facility, and in the early 1960s the university planned the construction of a major new library building. Built throughout 1962 and 1963 and dedicated on November 5, 1963, the 172,000 square-foot building allowed for the housing of all university library resources under one roof. The new library boasted a million-volume capacity, carrels, furnished seating, special reading rooms, a 108-seat auditorium, and special music rooms. In 1965, Auburn University named the facility Ralph Brown Draughon Library after the university’s tenth president, who retired that year. In 1988, Auburn organized a major renovation project designed to double the library’s floor space to 380,000 square feet, increase its capacity to 2.5 million volumes, and add a 345-car parking deck. Ralph Brown Draughon Library is located at 231 Mell Street, Auburn University.