Shannon Library

Shannon Library

Shannon Library formerly “Alderman Library” is a research facility built in 1937 at the University of Virginia. Alderman Library was named for UVA’s first president, Edwin A. Alderman. In 2020, the university began renovating the building. On January 8, 2024, the library reopened to the public. On February 29, 2024, the university Board of Visitors voted to change the name of the library to Shannon Library and its grand opening was on April 4, 2024. The new name honors Edgar F. Shannon Jr., the university’s fourth president.

1938 dedication

At the 1938 commencement exercises in June, the University officially dedicated Alderman Library. Dumas Malone, the director of Harvard University Press and the man chosen to write former University President Alderman’s biography, gave the keynote address. Malone praised Edwin A. Alderman (1861 – 1931) for his tireless commitment to bringing a word-class library to UVA as an enduring resource for students and the public at large.

“Libraries in Europe that have been ‘purged’ may be for the moment temples of exclusive and barbaric cults, but libraries as we know them in America are cathedrals open to all faiths and dedicated to the God of truth,” declared Malone.

• Context: Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany systematically destroyed an estimated 100 million books throughout occupied Europe. On December 31, 1938 the Reichsministerium fur Volksaufklaerung und Progaganda published the Liste des schädlichen und unerwünschten Schrifttums. This list of "damaging and undesirable writing" included authors, living and dead, whose works were banned from the Reich because of their Jewish descent, pacifist or communist views, or suspicion thereof.

Renovations

From 2020-2024, Shannon Library underwent major renovations. The updates mainly included updating plumbing and electrical work and bringing the library up to accessible and safety standards. A new addition on the site of a demolished extension from 1967 includes a northern facade, a new entrance on University Avenue, more space for the Rare Book School, and a coffee shop. The grand reopening of the library took place on April 4, 2024.

Name Change

According to the naming policies of the University of Virginia, when there is an opportunity to name an establishment, "strong preference shall be given to persons who have had long, close, and valued associations with the University, as teachers, administrators, or distinguished and supportive alumni." Because of his many contributions to the university during his time as president, Shannon Library was initially built in Edwin A. Alderman's name. Before the library started renovations in 2020, however, UVA students and faculty began discussing the possibility of changing its namesake. The conversation of renaming “Alderman Library” emerged because of Alderman’s controversial relationship with eugenics. When Alderman established UVA as a center for eugenical thought and research, he was revered for the development of the university's sciences. Since then, eugenics has evolved into a racist pseudoscience.

Notable Events

• During World War II, Shannon Library secretly stored some material from the Library of Congress. Materials were stored in less vulnerable locations than the Library of Congress throughout the country. Examples of some of the material housed in the library were copies of the Magna Carta and the United States Constitution.

External Links

• UVA Library site on the renovation