The Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library has had a long and distinguished history in serving the information needs of the faculty, students, staff and practicing veterinarians at the College of Veterinary Medicine. It was founded on September 21, 1897 with a gift from Roswell P. Flower, governor of the State of New York. The library became the Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library in 1992 when it was renamed to recognize Dr. and Mrs. Isidor I. Sprecher for their generous support of the College. A Centennial Celebration was held in conjunction with Homecoming on September 26, 1997 to mark the Library's 100th anniversary.
Located on the second floor of Schurman Hall since 1957, the Library was expanded into the Veterinary Education Center in 1993. A large reading room, which seats sixty-six; display shelves for current journals; areas for indexes, abstracts, and other reference books; and carrels with audiovisual equipment are provided. The three levels of adjoining stacks include journals and monographs and are open to the public. Individual study carrels are also available on the lower compact shelving level. There are 12 public computers for searching the online catalog, bibliographic databases, World Wide Web, electronic journals, full texts publications, and other electronic resources.
The library's collection, with more than 90,000 volumes and nearly 800 current periodicals and series titles, represents an internationally recognized selection of materials in veterinary medicine plus publications in the biomedical sciences. Related strengths include immunology, microbiology, parasitology, pharmacology, physiology, and human medicine. All of these resources are designed to support undergraduate, graduate, clinical, and research programs. Interlibrary loans and photocopied materials further supplement the research potential of the Veterinary Library, which is rich in historical and basic research resources as well as recent monographs and selected government documents. The audiovisual collection includes approximately 1,400 titles in various formats including videorecordings, 35mm slide sets, audiotapes, laser videodiscs, and CD-ROM. These multimedia resources enhance academic programs as well as provide opportunities for self-study.
Twelve public microcomputers provide access to the Cornell University Library's online catalog (listing the combined holdings of all campus libraries), Cornell's Library Gateway, the World Wide Web, and various other network resources and databases including the Veterinary Information Network (VIN).
The wide range of information services includes reference assistance, online literature searching, interlibrary loan, photoduplication, instruction, and current awareness such as a table-of-contents service. Many bibliographic databases are available online for immediate access to the journal literature, including MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, BIOSIS, and Agricola. In addition, the searching expertise of a trained reference librarian is available for conducting mediated literature searches and monthly current awareness updates. Reference Update became available electronically in 1995 as a current awareness tool for keeping up-to-date with the recently published journal articles.
The Library also provides on-demand reference assistance to non-Cornell affiliated individuals, including practicing veterinarians, directly and through CONSULTANT, the College's veterinary diagnostic database. Through VetAccess you can get literature searches and photocopies of journal articles.
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Shortly after Governor Roswell P. Flower signed into law the legislation establishing the New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University on March 21,1894, James Law Hall was constructed in the center of campus, where Uris Hall is located today. The plans called for two rooms on the second floor of the south pavilion to be designated as a library.
However, when the school opened in the autumn of 1896, it was noted by Simon Henry Gage, one of the original six faculty members, that "during the first year, the teachers and students had to depend upon their own textbooks and private libraries, and on the wholly inadequate works bearing on human and veterinary medicine in the University Library. The shelves in the Veterinary college library were empty". (Gage, p. 346)
1897 Gift of Governor Flower
In a 1930 paper on the Library, Professor Simon Henry Gage recalled a story originally told by Charles Ezra Cornell, Ezra Cornell's grandson, trustee of the University, and Secretary of the College Council (Gage, p.346-347). It was described by Dr. Ellis P. Leonard in A Cornell Tradition: Veterinary Medicine 1868-1908 (p. 210-211) as follows:
"Governor Alonzo B. Cornell and former Governor Roswell P. Flower were in Ithaca on the occasion of Mr. Henry Sage's funeral (September 20, 1897). While driving on the campus after the funeral, one of the horses drawing the carriage balked on East Avenue in front of the new Veterinary College. While the groom busied himself with getting the horse to move, someone suggested a visit to the new college.
The visitors were shown the new buildings and equipment by Dr. Law, the College's first Dean, and were pleased at the appearance of the new institution. Before leaving, Governor Cornell asked Dr. Law about any further needs of the college. Dr. Law replied, 'We need a good library'.
Turning to Ex-Governor Flower, Governor Cornell remarked, 'Well, Governor, there is your opportunity". Without hesitation Governor Flower took out his check book, laid it on Dr. Law's desk and wrote a check for five thousand dollars, a tidy sum in those days.
The Ithaca Journal in recording the event paraphrased Andrew [Dickson] White's favorite expression, 'He builded better than he knew,' by saying, 'Perhaps the balky horse balked better than he knew'." (Leonard, p. 210-211)
"The [Cornell University] Board of Trustees met on September 21, 1897 and accepted the gift with the following words: 'Moved and carried that the President J. G. [Jacob Gould] Schurman be requested to express to Governor Flower the sincere thanks of the Board for his generous gift of five thousand dollars to found a library for the Veterinary College. Resolved: that the library founded by Governor Flower be named The Roswell P. Flower Library.'" (Leonard, p.211)
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Over the ensuing months, the faculty discussed how best to utilize this generous gift. Topics included the purchase of books, periodical subscriptions, contingency expenses, allotments by department, and relocation of the veterinary literature from the University Library to the Veterinary Library. The first library committee composed of Drs. James Law, Veranus Moore, and Grant Sherman Hopkins was convened in February, 1898. Their activities lead to the establishment of a set of rules and regulations for everything from loans to a cataloging system.
In 1899, Professor Gage, a noted expert on microscopy, suggested a brass tablet or plaque be placed on the library door. A beautiful, solid brass tablet was hand-engraved by Cox Sons and Buckley Company of New York City for $128.00 with the inscription:
The Roswell P. Flower Library
Founded 1897
This tablet currently hangs inside the Library's entrance on the right next to the engraved portrait of Governor Roswell P. Flower.
By 1901, 304 bound volumes along with unbound works, pamphlets, and water color illustrations had been purchased with $4,000 of the Governor's gift. This included the library of the late John Busteed, M.D., of New York, the founder of the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons, that included a number of rare and valuable books, dating f rom the work of Carlo Ruini (1602). Dr. Law indicated that "to the veterinarian it furnishes a valuable history of the science, while to the artist it provides the classic folios of Gurlt, Stubbs, Brunot, Leblanc and Trouseau, Snape, Blaine and Leisering, in artistic, descriptive and surgical anatomy". (Leonard, p.219) These volumes are currently stored in the Library's Rare Books Room. Additional gift volumes from the libraries of Dr. W.L. Zuill, former dean of the veterinary department of the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Gage, and others brought the total collection to about 1,754 volumes and 30 scientific journals by the turn of the century.
In 1901, when only $1,000 of the Governor Flower's original gift remained, the faculty felt that it might be appropriate to seek a permanent endowment to maintain the library. Interestingly, it was estimated that $500 per year would be needed to maintain the library.
Professor Simon Henry Gage, whose oil portrait currently hangs in the Library near the Photocopy Room, was appointed to contact members of the Flower family who were involved in the investment banking industry on Wall Street and present the College's plan for a library endowment. Shortly thereafter in May, 1901, President Schurman received a letter from Sarah M. Flower, Governor Flower's widow, with an enclosed check for $10,000. This gift was to be used for the purpose of establishing a permanent endowment for the "purchase and proper binding of books and periodicals". The remaining $1,000 of the original gift was added to the endowment.
A ceremony was held on June 12, 1901 in the College's Amphitheater to found and endow the Roswell P. Flower Library. President Schurman, Dr. James Law, and Mr. Roswell S. George, grand nephew of Governor Flower spoke. The full text of Dr. Law's eloquent speech can be found in Dr. Leonard's first volume on the history of the College (p.215-220).
It is also worth noting this endowment was further expanded in 1928 to a principal of $19,000. The additional $7,000 was largely raised through the efforts of Dr. Frank H. Miller, a McGill University graduate and long time Cornell trustee who practiced veterinary medicine in New York City, who headed the campaign for the library.
As the collection and library grew, so did the needs for additional space. In 1924 another wing was built on the South Pavilion of James Law Hall. The addition of two rooms provided much needed space for the library's stacks, reference books and reading tables. A notable feature of that expanded reading room was the oil portraits of the first deans, Law, Moore and Fish, as well as other professors. Many of these portraits hang in the Library's Reading Room today.
As Dean Moore noted in his 1923/1924 Annual Report, "this had made the library far more useful, not only for students and faculty, but also for the veterinarians of the State". (Moore, p.12) Then, in the Annual Report for 1924/1925, Moore again indicated that "the library is now well housed in the South Wing of James Law Hall. A large reading room with ample reference shelves already has increased the usefulness by at least 50 percent. There is now in the Library 7,272 volumes, and 95 veterinary and medical journals and other of allied sciences are received". (Moore, p.13)
Also, in 1923, Miss E. Clifford Williams was appointed as the first full-time librarian. Previously, staffing was provided on a part-time basis by individuals serving in other capacities, such as the College Clerk.
The Roswell P. Flower Library was renamed in 1929. This was done to avoid conflict with the Watertown, New York, Public Library in Governor Flower's home town that was also named in his honor. Thus, the College's library became known as the "Flower Veterinary Library" from 1929 until it was renamed again about 65 years later to "The Roswell P. Flower - Isidor I. and Sylvia M. Sprecher Library and Learning Resources Center."
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In 1957, the College made a major move from the center of campus to its present location at the eastern end of Tower Road. The Library was constructed on the second floor of Schurman Hall occupying about 9,200 square feet of space. This provided additional space for the collection which had reached over 30,500 volumes and received nearly 500 journal subscriptions. Three levels of stacks were adjoined by a large reading room with space for circulation, card catalog, staff and informal reading.
Expansion into the Veterinary Education Center (1993)
Early in the 1990's, the College began a major capital building expansion effort. In addition to the completion of the Veterinary Medical Center, the Veterinary Education Center building was constructed. It included nearly 5,700 square feet of space for the Library. It also moved the Library's entrance from Schurman Hall to a main traffic area in the atrium of the Veterinary Education Center. Compact shelving for up to 45,000 volume equivalents was added on the first level along with additional space for reference services, journal display and staff.
Sprechers' Contributions Honored
The library's name was changed to "The Roswell P. Flower - Isidor I. and Sylvia M. Sprecher Library and Learning Resources Center" in recognition of the significant contributions made by the Sprechers to the College over the years. Dr. Sprecher was a 1939 graduate of the College and practiced small animal veterinary medicine for many years in Waterbury, Connecticut. Dr. Sprecher donated his1939 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine diploma to the Library in 1993. This diploma currently hangs inside the Library's entrance on the left.
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A number of individuals served as part-time librarians in conjunction with their other duties, such as College Clerk, until 1923 when Miss Williams was appointed as the first full time librarian.
Charles Ezra Cornell (1897-1902)
Ralph Minthorne Brown (1902)
Arthur Malcolm Bean (1903)
Philena B. Fletcher (1904-1907)
Grace Elinor Kinney (1907)
Helena Haight (1908)
Allen J. Thomas (1908-1911)
Francis B. vanZandt (1911-1922)
Clayton E. DeCamp (1922)
E. Clifford Williams (1923-1946)
Alice Purrington (1946-1952)
Mia Reinap (1952-1978)
Susanne K. Whitaker (1978-1998)
Susan J. Barnes, Acting Director (1998-1999)
Erla P Heyns, Ph.D. (1999-Present)
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Gage, Simon Henry. The Flower Library of the New York State Veterinary College. The Cornell Veterinarian 1930;20:345-350.
Leonard, Ellis Pearson. A Cornell Heritage: Veterinary Medicine 1868-1907. Ithaca, NY: New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, 1979. pp. 210-222
Moore, Veranus Alva. New York State Veterinary College Annual Report 1923/1924, p.12
Moore, Veranus Alva. New York State Veterinary College Annual Report 1924/1925, p.13
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