Jesse Hall from above, 1994.

Resembling a dungeon, this photograph unveils a part of the library tucked away from the general study rooms--the study cells in the West stacks of the library. Though intimidating, these carrels were very popular among students to focus on work while having access to many of the materials they might need. Ph.D. students could rent out these carrels to have a "temporary residence" in the library.

Taken from the 1915 edition of The Savitar, this page details the need for a new, separate library due to Academic Hall's inability to house the rising number of books. Construction of Ellis began in 1913.

The 1936 Savitar displays a drawing of the prospective addition to the library. Construction began in 1935.This addition added fire-proof, stack space for books, reading rooms, seminar rooms and other library necessities.

In the top photo, students sort through reference cards. These cards contain bibliographic data of the library's resources to assist in finding certain texts. This room was considerably important in 1961 since most books were rearranged upon construction of the new wing. The photo on the bottom left lends a perspective of a librarians point of view in the northeastern addition. Students could come here for navigation in the new addition.

Inside the Northwest wing of the "General Library," additional areas created space and increased facilities available to the students at the University of Missouri. Importantly, it eliminated the use of the poorly ventilated reading room used by first year students beforehand.

The library added the Main Reading Room to offer peace and quiet to students. The 1958 northeast addition (completed in 1961) made the library almost twice as large as before.

Presented in the 1918 Savitar, this is one of the first pictures of the library. Originally, books were kept in the Academic Hall; however, as time went on, the University needed a new building to house the rising number of documents. Thus, the University began construction in 1913.

A sketch of the 1958 addition to the library. With the addition the University planned to have around a million volumes and facilities for two million. At this time, the library included a first floor undergraduate library for freshmen and sophomores, 100 private study rooms, 1000 lockers for graduates, 40 seminar rooms, and an open reading space. Fall of 1961 marked the completion of this large addition.