Not Your Grandmother's Library

Today, UT students can take advantage of many conveniences when conducting their research. 

Students using the John C. Hodges Library are fortunate to enjoy a library that is open overnight for 5 days of the week. 

Library users have access to a collection of more than 4 million volumes — including more than 1.5 million electronic books. 

Students can get help with their library research by email, phone, online chat, or by appointment with a librarian. They also can get help with math, writing, and public speaking — right in the library! 

In the Commons, students can borrow laptops and cameras or explore virtual reality, gaming, crafts, and 3D printing. 

Ever wonder what the library was like when your grandmother was in college? 

There was no online catalog, of course. A phalanx of oak cabinets housed the card catalog. And a series of heavy tomes known as the Library of Congress Subject Headings provided a key to the correct search terms. 

There was no round-the-clock access to electronic resources. No coffee shop in the library. For that matter, no browsing through the bookstacks — at least, not if you were an undergraduate! 

Sixty years ago, the stacks in UT's main library were closed to all except faculty and graduate students. Others wishing to use materials requested them at the service desk, and the books were "paged" (brought) from the stacks. 

In 1964, planning began for a separate, "open-stack" undergraduate library. The John C. Hodges Undergraduate Library opened in 1969. That old Undergraduate Library was subsequently renovated and expanded, and the present ziggurat-shaped John C. Hodges Library became the campus's main library in 1987.

Today, in addition to the John C. Hodges Library, all students have access to the specialized collections and expert research assistance available at the George F. DeVine Music Library and the Webster C. Pendergrass Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Library. 

Graduate students still enjoy a few unique privileges such as a longer loan period for books and exclusive use of the Graduate Commons on the first floor of Hodges Library. 

Want to learn more about the university's past? Visit the Volopedia online encyclopedia of UT history.