History of Lipscomb University Libraries
- In 1896, Nashville Bible School makes first mention in the catalog of a library with 300 volumes on its South Spruce Street campus.
- The library was housed on the second floor of the Administration Building, now Harding Hall, on the Lipscomb farm property by 1903.
- In 1905, the library contained 2000 volumes with an annual budget of $150.
- Periodicals were added to the collection of print books by 1913.
- The library collection was cataloged in the early twenties and in 1930 was moved to the former Lipscomb home, Avalon Hall.
- In 1932, the library moved to the basement of Elam Hall where it resided until Crisman Memorial Library was built in 1947/48.
- Crisman was Lipscomb’s first dedicated library building with 2 large reading rooms and housing 18,000 volumes.
- Crisman was the library’s home for the next 43 years until the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools recommended a new library building.
- Beaman Library was opened in 1991 with 55,852 square feet, 3 times the size of Crisman Memorial Library, seating 559 students, and providing 16 private study rooms.
- The first automated library system, the Gaylord Galaxy System, was implemented with the move to Beaman.
- Dr. James E. Ward was the Library Director in Crisman and continued in that role for 30 years, retiring in 1998.
- Carolyn T. Wilson became the next Library Director in 1998, instituting the “Friends of Beaman Library” group and transitioning the library to the use of electronic resources before her retirement in 2014.
- During 2015, Sandra Parham was hired as Beaman Library’s third Library Director, helping librarians to secure a dedicated Library Lab to teach information literary to undergraduate and graduate classes. She became the Library Director for Meharry Medical College in 2020.
- In January 2021, the Austin Center’s Worley Library, with its extensive collection of theological texts, became a part of the Lipscomb University Libraries.
- Julie Harston succeeded Sandra Parham in the Director role in April 2021.
- Currently, Library Director Julie Harston, leads a staff of 5 Librarians. 3 Paraprofessionals, and 2 Part-time Staff who continue to navigate providing services and getting resources in the hands of students in a Covid environment. In June 2021, they worked to implement Beaman’s cloud-based management platform, Worldshare Management Systems (WMS), the library’s first new system in 20 years.
- Today Beaman Library encompasses 39,000 square feet (about 2/3 of its original size), houses 140,000 print volumes, seats 372 students, and provides 11 private study rooms.