DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Carroll Library, standing there on the Baylor campus in McLennan County. Now, every great institution has a beginning that's a little messy, and Carroll Library is no exception. Cast your mind back to 1886, when Waco University consolidated with Baylor University at Independence — and out of that consolidation came Baylor University as it stood going forward.
But here's the thing: when you bring two schools together, you don't automatically get one tidy library. What you get is books scattered everywhere — spread throughout a number of libraries and literary societies — and researchers pulling their hair out trying to track anything down. The ones who finally hollered loudest about it were the students.
Baylor's own student newspaper, the Lariat, proposed the creation of a university library. And that idea worked its way up the chain until 1901, when Baylor President Oscar H. Cooper went before the board of trustees and made it official.
He requested the creation of the position of curator and librarian, and he had a name ready: James J. Carroll. Now here's where the story gets its heart.
A man named F.L. Carroll — for whom this library is named — donated the funds for construction. Building of the library and chapel began in April of 1903, and when the doors opened, the shelves held an accumulation of about eighteen thousand books.
That is not nothing. Among those holdings were some remarkable collections — the Browning Collection, which later became the nucleus of the Armstrong Browning Library, and the Texas Collection. Scholarly treasure, sitting right there in Waco.
And then 1922 arrived, and with it — fire. Fire destroyed the library. Now, I'll tell you, many items were saved, and that matters.
But losing a building that had stood as a center of learning for nearly two decades — that stings in a way that doesn't go away quick. What happened next says something about the people attached to that place: the Baylor Alumni Association stepped up and led a fundraising effort, and by 1923 — just one year later — a new building stood in its place. One year.
Let that settle. The decades that followed weren't exactly quiet. During the next fifty years, various departments and offices moved in and made Carroll Library their home.
In the 1950s, the Texas Collection came back. Then in 1968, the main library moved out entirely, giving that Texas Collection room to breathe and expand. In 1993, the University renovated the building itself.
And here Carroll Library stands today — a vital scholarly institution for students and faculty of Baylor University, and for others in Waco and throughout Texas. From a scattering of books across too many rooms, to a fire, to a rebuild in a single year, to a century of reinvention — that building has earned its place on this campus.
What the marker says
The Carroll Library has been a vital institution for Baylor since the early 20th century. The need for a central library became clear when Waco University consolidated with Baylor University at Independence in 1886, resulting in the opening of Baylor University. Holdings were spread throughout a number of libraries and literary societies making research difficult. Baylor's student newspaper, the Lariat, proposed the creation of a university library. In 1901, Baylor President, Oscar H. Cooper, requested the board of trustees to create the position of curator and librarian, and recommended the appointment of James J. Carroll to the position. F.L. Carroll, for whom the library is named, donated funds for construction. Building of the library and chapel began in April 1903. The library opened with an accumulation of about 18,000 books. A number of special holdings, including the Browning Collection (which later became the nucleus of the Armstrong Browning Library) and Texas Collection, have been held here. In 1922, fire destroyed the library, though many items were saved. The Baylor Alumni Association led a fundraising effort which resulted in the construction of a new building by 1923. During the next fifty years, various departments and offices occupied Carroll Library. In 1968, the main library moved, allowing the Texas Collection, which returned here in the 1950s, to expand. In 1993, the University renovated the library building. Today, Carroll Library continues to be a vital scholarly institution for students and faculty of Baylor University, as well as for others in Waco and throughout Texas. (2008)