Library

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This collection is comprised of records and documents created or used by the staff of the Bennington College Library in the course of business pertaining to the operation of the Library. The bulk of the collection consists of records after 1955. Due to sporadic transfers of records, there are significant gaps in some series. Historical/Biographical Note: The Bennington College Library was established when President Robert D. Leigh appointed the college’s first librarian, Mrs. Gladys Y. Leslie, in 1931. Since its creation, the Bennington College Library staff have maintained a small, carefully-selected collection for student and faculty use. Historically, the selection of books for the library has been made in dialogue with faculty members and students in support of courses, tutorials, and theses. In addition to the Crossett Library, which houses monographs, reference materials, serials, and audio-visual materials, the Bennington College Library also includes the Judith Rosenberg Hoffberger Music Library, which includes scores, records, compact discs, sheet music, and composition software, and the College Archives and Special Collections, which houses archival materials, college and faculty publications, and student theses. During its first 27 years of operation, the Library was housed in the southeast wing of the Barn. By 1951, music collections began to be housed in Jennings Hall. In the fall of 1959, Bennington College opened the Edward Clark Crossett Library, designed by internationally renowned modern architect Pietro Belluschi. Prominent landscape architect Hideo Sasaki also worked on the project. The new library building was named in honor of Edward Clark Crossett. Mr. Crossett, in addition to being a major donor to the college, was the father of Mrs. Carolyn Crossett Rowland, a 1937 alumna, former trustee, and donor to the college.

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