LCC Library History

 

LIBRARY HISTORY TIMELINE

1950S

• 1957: Lansing Community College was established. The "library" was a set of books on a windowsill in President Philip Gannon's office.
• 1959: Don Pelkey was hired as the first LCC librarian.

1960S

• 1960: First formal library was created in the Old Central Building.
• 1964: A Library Technology degree program was created.
• 1966: The library was moved into new space in Old Central (formerly Old Central high school gym).
• 1968: A second library was established in the new Arts and Sciences building.

1970S

• 1970s: Two hundred and fifty classes were offered per year on how to use the library.
• 1970s: The library assisted other colleges and public libraries with the formation of the Michigan Library Consortium.
• 1970s: The library converted to Library of Congress classification.
• 1970s: The library began conversion to a computer catalog (CLSI).
• 1974: The Arts and Sciences library received a special collection dedicated to Native American and Hispanic cultures.
• 1975: A small library was established in the new Gannon Vocational-Technical building.

1980S

• 1981: The library was the first in Michigan to provide a computer catalog for the entire collection.
• 1988: Plan was devised to create one large LCC Library in the Arts and Sciences building. It was dropped due to the expense of moving the cafeteria.
• 1988: The Vocational Technical Library in the Gannon building was closed.

1990S

• 1990: A new Vocational Technical Library was opened in the Gannon building.
• 1991: A Blue Ribbon committee recommended construction of an academic services building to house the library and other services.
• 1995: There was a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Technology and Learning Center building.
• 1997: The three LCC libraries became one as staff and material moved into the new library space in the TLC building.
• 1998: The library in the TLC building officially opened to the public in January, with a grand opening ceremony in March.
• 1999: Subscriptions to full text electronic resources were doubled.

2000-2010

• 2004: A 24/7 library tutorial was developed (LINKS).
• 2005: Email and chat reference services began.
• 2007: The library began a librarian liaison program.

2010-2019

• 2014: The Library started the first One Book One LCC program, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
• 2016: The library began lending laptops and 3D printing became available.
• 2017: Appointment based reference service began.
• 2019: Lending laptop collection reached 500 laptops.

2020-

The Library and the Technology and Learning Center building are undergoing a massive renovation. Learning Commons will be moving into TLC. The library and the Learning Commons will work together to ensure ready access to academic support services for students: tutoring, research help, technology help, and writing assistance.