THE REDEDICATION PAPERS
From modest beginnings in 1913, when all the books could be
kept in a single case, the Rice Library grew until it had filled the
rooms assigned to it in the Administration Building and many
others beside. The construction of a library building was neces-
sarily delayed by the priorities of the Second World War, but a
cornerstone was laid in 1947, and the Fondren Library of the Rice
Institute was opened two years later.
The rated capacity of the new building was 600,000 volumes, to
be reached in an expected twenty years, and these estimates proved
to be remarkably accurate. A new wing, called the Graduate Re-
search Addition, was opened in the fall of 1968; this facility
doubles the Fondren Library’s capacities in all lines: for readers,
for books, for processing, and for specialized services such as maps,
music, and microfilms.
The new construction was made possible by grants from the
Fondren Foundation, the United States Government, and private
donations. This expanded library of Rice University was dedicated
with appropriate ceremonies during the month of April, 1969, and
the major papers and speeches delivered on that occasion are
presented in this volume of the Rice University Studies.
The Dedication Address itself was delivered by Dr. Merrimon
Cuninggim of the Danforth Foundation. This paper appears first in
the volume, the others being printed in alphabetical order under
the author’s name.
Dr. David Kaser, Mr. Frank M. LeBar, Mr. George M. Bailey,
Professor Howard L. Resnikoff, and Mr. M. Zane Thornton, all of
them in the front of library and research activity, add their con-
tributions to an understanding of the present state of the library
art and their suggestions for its development. Professor Doralyn
Hickey, who was present at the same time on the campus for a
regional seminar on the MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloging)
Project of the American Library Association and the Library of
Congress, contributes a timely discussion of humanization and
mechanization in modern library practice. Professor R. H. Super
of Michigan shows how extensive are the library materials