John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library

{{short description|Main library at Brown University}}

{{Infobox building

|name = John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library

|image = John_D._Rockefeller_Library,_Brown_University.jpg

|image_size =

|caption =

|location = 10 Prospect Street, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

|coordinates = {{coord|41|49|32.61|N|71|24|18.32|W|region:US|display=inline,title}}

|roof =

|floor_count =

|elevator_count =

|completion_date = 1964

|building_type = Library

|architect = Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde

|architectural_style = Brutalist

|main_contractor = E. Turgeon Construction Company

|developer = Brown University

|references =

}}

The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, nicknamed "the Rock", is the primary teaching and research library for the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of five individual libraries which make up the Brown University Library.

The library was named after John D. Rockefeller Jr., who graduated in the class of 1897. The building was constructed between 1962 and 1964 and designed by Danforth Toan.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Mitchell |first=Martha |year=1993 |title=Rockefeller Library |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Brunoniana |publisher=Brown University Library |location=Providence, RI |asin=B0006P9F3C |url=https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=R0230 |access-date=2007-12-06 }} The building drew attention as the first building in the area constructed in the Brutalist style, and alongside the Sciences Library, Graduate Center, and List Art Building, is one of the campus's four significant examples of Brutalist architecture.{{cite web|last1=Dee|first1=Gabrielle|title=Rockefeller Library celebrates 50 years|url=http://www.browndailyherald.com/2014/09/09/rockefeller-library-celebrates-50-years/|website=The Brown Daily Herald|access-date=4 April 2018|location=Providence, RI|date=9 September 2014|quote=the Rock stood out not only because of its prime location at the top of College Hill, but also because of its modern, Brutalist architecture}}

The library houses Brown University's East Asian Collection, which started in 1961 after Charles Sidney Gardner donated about 30,000 volumes, most of them Chinese. In 1965, a Federal grant led to the formal establishment of the East Asia Language and Area Center, which has since become the East Asian Studies Department. The University began to acquire Japanese works after a grant was received in 1980. The collection itself now includes a Korean collection.{{Cite web|url=http://library.brown.edu/collections/eastasian/|title = A Profile of the East Asian Collection @ Brown University Library}}

The most recent renovations of the "Rock" include the creation of the David and Laura Finn Reading Room (2009), the Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab (2012) and the main floor reading room (2014).

The John D. Rockefeller Jr. library should not be confused with the Cambridge University Library at the University of Cambridge which was built with funds from John D. Rockefeller and is colloquially referred to as the Rockefeller Library.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}