{"id":522,"date":"2012-03-12T12:04:42","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T12:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forms.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/present\/a-pictorial-history-the-university-of-iowa-libraries-6\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T10:32:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T15:32:59","slug":"groundbreak","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/present\/groundbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Groundbreaking ceremony – May 11, 1949"},"content":{"rendered":"
The New Library Building \u2013 \u201cMain Library\u201d\u00a0previous<\/a> | next<\/a><\/div>\n
\"President<\/a>

Approximately 3,000 people attended the ground breaking ceremonies on May 11, 1949.
At the conclusion of University of Iowa President Virgil Hancher’s speech he declared “.. let the work begin!” and a dragline scooped up the first load of ground. (Iowa Digital Library<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

A portion of President Virgil Hancher’s speech:<\/p>\n

Today we break ground for the construction of the first library building as such this University of ours, in its one hundred and second year, has ever had. This is a day for which the University community has waited a long time, a very long time. When I came back to the University in the autumn of 1940, the budget for our legislative requests had already been prepared.\u00a0 In it was a request for the sum of $500,000 for the first unit of a $2,000,000 University library building (that is, $4,000,000 in today\u2019s currency). In preparing for the presentation of this request for the General Assembly, I studied the history of this request for the General Assembly, I studied the history of the University\u2019s prior requests for a library building. The first attempt was made exactly 50 years earlier \u2014 in the year 1891! That effort failed. I also found that when the building then known as the Natural Science building \u2013 and now known as Macbride Hall \u2014 was completed in 1904, it was decided that the library \u201cshould be temporarily housed therein.\u201d And so for 45 years \u2013 amid the delightful aromas emanating from Home Economics, the alcoholic and moth ball scents from the Museum, the frightful racket from the orchestras practicing for Kampus Kapers and Panacea, the library has \u201ctemporarily housed itself therein.\u201d I mention these facts to put at ease those persons \u2013 among whom are a few friends of mine, presidents of privately controlled institutions \u2013 who feel that the people of this state, through their elected representatives, proceed with unseemly haste to meet the needs of the state-supported institutions of higher learning!<\/p>\n

. . . But when I have tried to state the three purposes this library is to serve \u2013 the liberal education of the youth, preservation of the records of learning, and advancement of research and teaching \u2013 there is something more that yearns to be said.<\/p>\n

One cannot contemplate libraries and books without recalling the civilization-long battle for the freedom of the human spirit.\u00a0 That is what yearns to be said on this occasion, because here we build a place for the magnificent record man has made in his quest for goodness, happiness and security.<\/p>\n

Over the shoulder of each reader peers the long line of men who have devoted their lives, and sometimes given their lives, to the end that just a little more may be known or felt.<\/p>\n

Some speak in mathematical symbols; some speak to promote \u201cknowledge in the mind\u201d; and some speak to promote \u201cfeeling in the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

But all speak as men, to men and for mankind! In this confidence, let the work begin!<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New Library Building \u2013 \u201cMain Library\u201d\u00a0previous | next A portion of President Virgil Hancher’s speech: Today we break ground for the construction of the first library building as such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":512,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"pagetpl-default.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1176,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/522\/revisions\/1176"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}