Susan Siggelakis, associate professor of political science, has written an article about the negotiations that led to the building of Hamilton Smith Library in 1907. "'A Plain, Dignified Building': Negotiating for an Academic Carnegie Library in Durham" will appear in the spring 2017 issue of Historical New Hampshire, a publication of the New Hampshire Historical Society.
"William Gibbs, president of what was at the time called the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in Durham, assembled an unusual coalition to ensure the library got built with practically no college funds, combining Carnegie's benevolence with two Durham library organizations to construct a new library building on campus that served both the college and the town. Such a feat required perseverance, tact, and not a little creativity, producing what was probably the only college library in the country to have a fully functioning children's room, which was intended to serve the youngsters of Durham. The college's current Hamilton Smith Hall is a legacy to Gibbs's efforts and good old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity." --New Hampshire Historical Society Newsletter, March 2017
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Written By:
Susan Dumais '88 '02G | College of Liberal Arts
