Ageing Coburn

 

“Shortly after the fall term opened in 1931, Alice Bemis Taylor, daughter of Judson Bemis, announced plans to finance the building of a new library for the college. An architect was chosen, preliminary plans were drawn, a site west of Palmer Hall was selected, and several carloads of peachblow sandstone from the Frying Pan River quarry were deposited on the campus north on Coburn. As the preliminary planning dragged over several years, Mrs. Taylor changed her mind and turned her full attention to a new fine arts center to replace the Broadmoor Art Academy. No reason was given for the change in plans. However, twelve years later upon Mrs. Taylor’s death, the college received $400,000 from her estate with the suggestion that it be applied toward the building of a library.” (Reid, p. 120) “As enrollment increased, the facilities of Coburn Library were severely strained. In 1939 the board of trustees allocated 20,000 to build a four-level stack addition to the north end of the library, which increased the book capacity by 60,000 volumes and added thirty-five study carrel. Coburn Library’s 116,000 accessioned books and collection of bound magazines from the 19th century compared favorably with other liberal art colleges throughout the country, but the facilities of the library remained inadequate even after the new stacks were added.” (Reid, p. 144)