Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library
{{Infobox building
| name = Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library
| location = 100 Nicolls Road
Stony Brook, New York, 11794
| building_type = Library
| start_date = 1962
| image = Melville_Library,_Stony_Brook_University.jpg
| caption = East entrance
| owner = Stony Brook University
| namesake = Frank Melville Jr.
| opened_date = July 1963
| architecture_firm = Damaz-Pokorny-Weigel
| former_names = State University Library (1963–70) {{cite web |url=https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/handle/1951/27533/Statesman%2c%20V.7%2c%20n.%204.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Statesman |date=November 19, 1963 |publisher=State University of NY at Stony Brook}}
}}
The Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library is the main library at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. It is named for the father of philanthropist Ward Melville, who donated 400 acres of land and money to establish Stony Brook University in 1957. It originally opened in July 1963 and has massively expanded since its original construction. The library was dedicated to Melville in 1971.
The library currently holds over two million volumes, over 300 databases, 70,000 electronic journals, 10,000 electronic books, 10,000 compact disks and 6,000 films.{{Cite web|last=Kasten-Mutkus|first=Kate|title=Research & Subject Guides: TA Library Resources: Using the SBU Libraries|url=https://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/TA/libraries|access-date=2020-09-24|website=guides.library.stonybrook.edu|language=en}} The six-story building encompasses roughly 682,000 square feet of space and is in use by over fifty different administrative and academic departments.{{Cite web|date=2016|title=Melville Library Emergency Plan|url=https://library.stonybrook.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Melville-Building-Emergency-plan-updated-3-15-16.pdf}} Numerous retail companies ranging from Shop Red West (one of the university's bookstores) to Starbucks are housed in the Melville Library.
History
Originally constructed in 1962 as a modest sized three-story building, the library opened its doors as the State University Library in July 1963 with capacity for 700 students.{{Cite web|title=Our Story {{!}} Stony Brook University Libraries|url=https://library.stonybrook.edu/our-story/|access-date=2020-09-24|language=en-US}} It was renovated almost immediately with numerous construction projects shortly after; in 1967, work began on the "Bridge to Nowhere", connecting the library to the Stony Brook Union. Plans to connect the two buildings with the Fine Arts Center were not completed until 10 years after ground was broken, giving the structure its name.{{Cite web|title=A Timeline History of the University Libraries {{!}} Special Collections and University Archives|url=https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/libspecial/archives/libraryhistory.php|access-date=2020-09-24|website=www.stonybrook.edu|language=en}} The Bridge to Nowhere was completed in 1977 and demolished in 2002.
In 1969, architect Ervin Y. Galantay spearheaded a new design for the library, adding four separate five-story wings around the original structure as well as a glass atrium that connected the original building to its new areas. After another massive renovation in 1971 that nearly quadrupled the square footage of the library, it was dedicated to Frank Melville Jr., Ward Melville's father.
In April 2002, a steel sculpture by graphic designer Milton Glaser was installed outside the library facing the Academic Mall.
It holds more than 2.1 million bound volumes and over four million rolls of microfilm. The library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries, a consortium of the top 120 research libraries in the country. The library has a Special Collections Department which houses over 16,000 rare books, 800 antique and hand-drawn maps, and over 150 collections, including the papers of Senator Jacob K. Javits, the Environmental Defense Archive, and the William Butler Yeats Microfilmed Manuscripts Collection.{{cite web |title=Stony Brook Fast Facts |url=http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/about/welcome/fastfacts.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513181047/http://www.stonybrook.edu/library/about/welcome/fastfacts.html |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=June 24, 2008}}
In 2016 the North and Central Reading Rooms were renovated and modernized with new furniture and technology improvements to become a "knowledge commons."{{cite web |title=Library Renovation |url=https://library.stonybrook.edu/library-renovation/ |website=Stony Brook University Libraries |publisher=Stony Brook University |access-date=6 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006134614/https://library.stonybrook.edu/library-renovation/|archive-date=6 October 2019}} The redesign included adding new independent study areas, more natural light, better acoustics, new flooring, more electrical outlets, and new computer workstations.{{cite web |title=Renovation Updates |url=https://library.stonybrook.edu/library-renovation/renovation-updates/ |website=Stony Brook University Library |publisher=Stony Brook University |access-date=6 October 2019|archive-date=6 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006134819/https://library.stonybrook.edu/library-renovation/renovation-updates/}}
Description
File:Melville Library interior, Stony Brook University.jpg
The building consists of six floors, and a commuter lounge, and is located on the Academic Mall of the university. There are also separate branch libraries in Math, Physics & Astronomy, Chemistry, Music, Computer Science, and Marine Science. The Library also contains offices for different academic departments, as well as classrooms, computer labs, a career center and a bookstore.
Shop Red West, one of the university's bookstores, is located in the basement of the Melville Library. After a longtime partnership with Barnes & Noble, the university reached a contract with Follett Corporation in 2018 to manage its bookstores and electronic catalog.{{Cite press release|last=Corporation|first=Follett|title=Follett Contracts with Stony Brook University to Operate Virtual Bookstore and Campus Stores|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/follett-contracts-with-stony-brook-university-to-operate-virtual-bookstore-and-campus-stores-300615965.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}} The bookstore, then a Barnes & Noble, moved to the Melville Library from the Stony Brook Union in 1986.{{Cite book|last=Nyltray|first=Kristen|title=Stony Brook: State University of New York|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2002}}
In 2016, Amazon@StonyBrook opened, becoming the first Amazon pick-up location in the state of New York and only the 15th college in the United States to offer an Amazon pick-up location.{{Cite web |date=2016-11-03 |title=Stony Brook University Launches New Amazon Pickup Location {{!}} |url=https://news.stonybrook.edu/newsroom/press-release/general/2016_11_03_amazonstonybrook/ |access-date=2020-09-24 |website=SBU News |language=en-US}} However, the facility closed in November 2020 after four years.{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Alek |date=2020-11-18 |title=Stony Brook University's Amazon location closes after four years |url=https://www.sbstatesman.com/2020/11/17/stony-brook-universitys-amazon-location-closes-after-four-years/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=The Statesman |language=en-US}}
In 2017, a Starbucks coffee shop opened in the basement adjacent to Shop Red West. The 2,842-square foot location cost $1.4 million to make and seats 70. An existent storage facility had to be demolished in order to make room.{{Cite web|title=Starbucks Opens in SUNY Stony Brook|url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/starbucks-opens-suny-stony-brook|access-date=2020-09-24|website=QSR magazine|date=25 September 2017 |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category|Melville Library (Stony Brook University)}}
External links
- [http://www.library.stonybrook.edu Library homepage]
{{The State University of New York at Stony Brook}}
{{Coord|40.91557|N|73.12273|W|region:US-NY_type:edu|display=title}}
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Category:University and college academic libraries in New York (state)
Category:Stony Brook University buildings and structures
Category:Federal depository libraries