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About: About the Library

About the Library

The Clark Family Library’s origins extend back to 1789, when Benjamin Franklin gave the nascent college a £50 pound donation for books. In the College Archives, the Library still holds five books from this original purchase. When Washington College and Jefferson College were unified in 1865, the Library was located in the College’s Carnegie Library, now known as Thompson Memorial Hall. In 1965, the College built the U. Grant Miller Library on its current site and moved its holdings to that new, larger facility. In the summer of 2018, the library underwent a major renovation converting the upper floor to facilitate collaborative study space, increasing the footprint of our archives and special collections, and updating the building to be more accessible for all patrons. The library is renamed for W&J Board of Trustees member Richard T. Clark ’68 and his wife, Angela, whose donation made the upgrades possible. 

Mission

The mission of Clark Family Library is to serve as an intellectual center by providing resources and services that

  • foster critical inquiry and information literacy skills that lead to personal academic success, professional accomplishment, and curiosity
  • spur life-long learning habits in the students, faculty, and staff of Washington & Jefferson College

Library Goals

  1. Build an accessible and relevant collection.
  2. Enhance relationships with faculty in all disciplines to support student learning and integrate information literacy across the curriculum. 
  3. Develop instruction sessions that engage students in the process of critical inquiry that encourages effective life-long learning.
  4. Discover new avenues for reaching the greater W&J community encouraging increased engagement with the library through activities that produce social and intellectual growth.
  5. Provide and support professional development opportunities for all Library staff through continued education on changing library issues, technology, and best practices.