The History Behind the Stacks
When Concordia opened its doors in 1891, the library was located in Bishop Whipple Hall. Its collections were primarily reference materials and newspapers published in Norwegian for the immigrant populace.
In 1907, the library moved to the basement of the newly completed Main building and ten years later moved to the second floor when more space was needed for its collections. When Grose Hall was built in 1922, the library again moved around which time Concordia's first librarian, Carrie Braaten, was hired.
During these early years, students were permitted to borrow one volume for two weeks and were charged one cent each day the volume was overdue.
As Concordia's student body continued to increase, more space was needed for classrooms, programs, and students. The library found itself dealing with a similar struggle; for example, in the early 1940s, freshmen students were not allowed to study in the library because there was not enough room.
During World War II, Concordia developed a defense training program that required space in Grose Hall causing the library to move again this time to the basement of Fjelstad Hall. Concordia officials now recognized the need for expansion and a new library building. In 1955, two members of the Board of Regents, J. Luther Jacobson and E. T. Paulson, thought of a creative way to raise the $400,000 needed to build a new library: they set out to find 400 people who would give $1,000 and thus founded the college's C-400 Club.
Each time the library had moved to a new building, students carried the books from the old location to the new. On February 6, 1956, students, faculty, and staff again carried the library's collections then consisting of 40,000 volumes. This event was affectionately termed "Operation Horsepack."
The new library was named after the beloved religion professor Carl B. Ylvisaker and afforded much needed space for students and materials as it had the capacity to hold 500 people and 120,000 volumes. In February of 1957, the Minnesota Society of the American Institute of Architects honored the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library and its architects, Sovik, Mathre, & Associates, with an award for its distinctive design.
The Carl B. Ylvisaker Library is not only unique for its architecture and namesake, but also for some of the events that have happened within its walls. One such event was a marriage between two Cobbers who had met a year earlier at the library (then located in the basement of Fjelstad Hall). The couple had originally planned to marry at First Lutheran Church, but the pastor selected to perform the marriage ceremony could not legally wed non North Dakota residents in Fargo.
Upon learning where the couple first met, the pastor suggested that the legal ceremony take place at the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library since he could marry the couple in Minnesota (the groom was a Minnesota resident). On April 20, 1957, the couple was married outside of the library because the librarian on duty would not permit them to enter the building as the floors were being washed.
The library has also fallen victim to pranks, the most famous being the "great silverware caper." Clouded by darkness in the early hours of March 29, 1961, eight members of the class of '61 stealthily "borrowed" dishes and 300 pounds of silverware from the college cafeteria.
They transported the tableware to the library's North Reading Room and set the tables for a banquet of approximately 120 people.
Cafeteria staff and librarians arrived to work that morning to discover the unexpected, but breakfast was still served and books were still circulated.
Twenty years later, the class of 1961 held their reunion breakfast in the North Reading Room to commemorate the event where former president Joe Knutson pardoned the pranksters stating, "The prank was received in good humor and grace. On behalf of Concordia College, I absolve all of you."
-- Contributed by the Concordia College Archives
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eNews is a publication of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved.
Concordia College, 901 8th St S, Moorhead, MN 56562; (218) 299-4000
eNews is a publication of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved.
Concordia College, 901 8th St S, Moorhead, MN 56562; (218) 299-4000