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The Library at Chapman University: A Historical Look

The Stauffer Memorial Library: Something more than merely this

The first named library at what is now Chapman University was called the Vernon Stauffer Memorial Library from 1925 to 1954 and simply, from 1954 to 1967, the Chapman College Library. As the college moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles and finally to Orange in 1954, the library was housed in various administration buildings, and started out very small. Its home on the Orange campus was in Memorial Hall.

Early issues of the Ceer, the Chapman yearbook, show that students had a sincere appreciation for the library and its staff. A page from the 1929 Ceer describes the Stauffer Library as "something more than merely" a place to study and a repository of books. The description of the library as a "thing of beauty" reveals that these early students, who attended what was then known as California Christian College, or "Cal Christian," recognized the value of the library.

Pages from the 1937 and 1938 issues of the Ceer show a sense of humor about the library, referring to librarians as "auctioneers," and as "Those great custodians of the Silence, those keepers of the Information." Although these captions poke gentle fun at librarian stereotypes, they do so in a light way that shows just how much the students valued what the library provided them.
Two Ceer pages from later years, two decades apart, in 1939 and 1959, show just how much Chapman students appreciated the library, as these issues of the Ceer were dedicated to librarians - Jeanne Sumner and Fanny Carlton, respectively.
According to the date on this photo, it shows Chapman students using the Chapman College Library on its very last day as the university library, February 15, 1967. The small library that had provided Chapman students a beautiful, supportive place to study, rich with resources, was ready to move into its own building.

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Dedication to librarian Fanny S. Carlton in 1959 Ceer Yearbook Yearbook page. In the upper right corner is a box with the word "DEDICATION." On the lower half of the page is a black and white photograph of a woman smiling for the camera, with the caption "Fanny S. Carlton." The text next to the picture reads, "Dedications are often made in honor of standouts. Quite infrequently one has the double honor and pleasure to dedicate a book to one who is important, yet often forgotten and one who is about to retire. Fanny Carlton will retire in June, after fourteen years of service for this college. She is one of those people we tend to overlook when credit is due. Her tireless efforts in behalf of the library have netted astonishing results. When she came to the college in 1945, the library contained 14,000 volumes many of which were duplicates and were obsolete. These had been acquired in the previous twenty-five years. In her fourteen years as librarian, she increased the number of volumes to over 35,000. Much of the money for books was raised through her personal efforts. As librarian, she has been extremely helpful to faculty and students alike in getting the materials they needed regardless of her own views on issues. It is with great respect that the Ceer staff dedicates the 1959 issue of the Ceer to Fanny Carlton." 1959 Ceer (LD891.C466 C4 1959), Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.
Library Staff in the 1938 Ceer Yearbook Page from a yearbook. At the top is a black and white photograph of seven people posing for the camera. The caption for the image reads "FIRST ROW: Estelle Hogevoll, Louise Hill, Josephine Hogevoll, Alice Scholes. SECOND ROW: Clinton Campbell, Kermit Sheets, Miss Sumner, Duke West, Arthur Northrup." In the lower left corner is a black and white photograph of students studying in the library, with the caption, "How to Study." The main text on the page reads, "LIBRARY Those great custodians of the Silence, those keepers of the Information, those assessors of the Fine, the Library Staff, have an important part in the regulation of Chapman College Scholarship. These people seem to be merely earning their expenses by simple, white-collar tasks, but in no campus job need a person be more meticulous and careful than in the regulating of a college library. More than a strong back and willing hands is needed here. From lowest to highest on the staff, each must know his job and know it well in order to assist students in a minimum of time in preparing their lessons for future assignments. Library workers check books in and out, of course. But many other tasks are theirs. Damaged books must be repaired, new books must be catalogued several times and placed in the racks, overdue books must be traced and returned, there are magazines to sort and file, and then, of course, the Great Silence must be maintained. No more difficult task can fall to the student in charge of the desk than to attempt to quiet one or two boisterous undergraduates who do not need the time for study. Often these noisy ones are friends who will become estranged through assertion of authority. The Library Staff, however, does its part to make the task of studying swifter and simpler." 1938 Ceer (LD891.C466 C4 1938), Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.
Stauffer Library, February 1967
The Library in the 1929 Ceer Yearbook Half a page from a yearbook. On the right is a black and white photograph of a woman writing in a journal, with the caption "Mrs. Willis Whitaker." The text reads, "The Library Our Stauffer Library, primarily a place well equipped for study and research--with books, newspapers, magazines, and collections of interesting old relic (sic)--is something more than merely this. It also fulfills its mission as a thing of beauty, its charming architecture and paintings creating an atmosphere in which it is a pleasure to work. Mrs. Willis Whitaker, assisted by Miss Opal Spoor, Miss Katherine Tucker, and Miss Eva Bunch, is in charge of the Library. 1929 Ceer (LD891.C466 C4 1929), Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.
Dedication to Librarian Jeanne Sumner in 1939 Ceer yearbook Yearbook page. Text reads, "Dedication. TO MISS JEANNE SUMNER, member of our first graduating class, and our present efficient librarian - always a thoughtful student, a loyal friend of the college, and a gracious and loving personality, we dedicate this book." Below the text is a black and white photograph of a woman posing for the camera. 1939 Ceer. Ld 891 C466 C4, Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.
Library Staff in the 1937 Ceer Yearbook A yearbook page. At the top is a black and white photograph of seven people standing and posing for the camera. The caption below reads, "FIRST ROW: Gurley, Basford, Pope. SECOND ROW: Hill, Brown, Hogevoll, Northrop." The main text on the page reads, "'Silence' says the sign on the door. It is the library. Back behind the scenes of the 'play' that is the library is Miss Jeanne Sumner. Those on this page are your arduous auctioneers, who are closing hours auction off reserved books and such to the first bidders. We will little note nor long remember the books read here. But your library staff will ne'er forget the work they did here--for you." Across the bottom of the page are four black and white photographs of librarians posing with books and card catalogues. 1937 Ceer (LD891.C466 C4), Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University.