The university library was formed by the combination of the libraries of the
Milwaukee Extension and the Milwaukee State Teachers College after the creation of
UWM in 1956. In the early years of the university, the main campus library was the
Kenwood Library, housed in what became Mellencamp Hall. As early as 1958, Donald
Woods, director of the library, and the Library Committee foresaw the need for
expanding the physical facilities of the library and suggested the site of Baker
Field House. Although Kenwood Library underwent remodeling in the early 1960s, the
need for additional space remained unsolved as the student population of UWM
continued to grow. A new library building was planned and constructed in the mid
1960s and the library materials were moved to the new facility in February 1967.
Stage II of the library, completed in 1974, and Stage III, completed in 1987, were
constructed to provide additional facilities. The library was renamed the Golda Meir
Library in 1979. In 2002, the administrative name of the library as a unit was
changed to UWM Libraries.
Directors of the Library
| 1956-1962 |
Donald Woods (formerly Director of the State Teachers College
Library)
|
| 1962-1970 |
Mark Gormley
|
| 1970-1971 |
William Moritz, Interim
|
| 1971-1989 |
William Roselle
|
| 1989-1990 |
William Moritz, Interim
|
| 1990-2003 |
Peter Watson-Boone
|
| 2003-2007 |
Ewa Barczyk, Interim
|
| 2007-2016 |
Ewa Barczyk
|
| 2016-2019 |
Michael Doylen, Interim
|
| 2019- |
Michael Doylen
|
The library's mission is to make information available for research in a wide range
of fields by undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. The various departments
of the library assist in making the library's holdings accessible. The American
Geographical Society, founded in 1851 in New York, moved its library and map
collections to the library in 1978. Technical Services is responsible for
identifying materials to be added to the library collections and processing these
materials for use. The Cataloging Department, a division within Technical Services,
has the specific responsibility for classifying and cataloging materials before they
are added to the holdings. Interlibrary Loan obtains library materials which are
held by other libraries to aid students and faculty in their research. The Archives
Department collects and provides reference to materials documenting the activities
of UWM. The Milwaukee Area Research Center, created in 1963 by agreement between the
Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) and UWM, provides access to archival and
manuscript collections owned by the WHS. The Morris Fromkin Collection, established
in 1969, focuses on the quest for social justice in the United States between the
end of the Civil War and the end of the New Deal. The Curriculum Library, founded in
the early 1950s as part of the State Teachers College, serves the needs of education
students.
Other organizations associated with the library include the Friends of the Library
and the Staff Association. The Friends of the Library, a group founded to encourage
donations to the UWM Library, formed in 1961. In 1964, the group became the Library
Associates, and assumed its former name, Friends of the Library, in the 1970s. The
group took its current name, Friends of the Golda Meir Library, in 1979. The Staff
Association, officially known as the UWM Library Staff Association, appears to have
been a continuation of an organization from the State Teachers College since its
records predate the establishment of UWM. It is managed by a committee of staff
members and conducts social activities for the staff.
