Alderman Library
(Map A, Building 1 [D2])
Alderman Library serves advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty with reference services and general collections in the humanities and social sciences. Thomas Jefferson began planning for the University's library in 1819 by selecting books for the collections and writing rules for their use. The books were housed in the Rotunda, designed by Jefferson as the central building of the University, until a fire in 1895 destroyed most of the collections. The rebuilt Rotunda continued to house the University Library until 1938. Alderman Library was designed by University alumnus Robert E. Lee Taylor (Col 1901) of Baltimore and built from 1936-38. The building was named in honor of Edwin Anderson Alderman, the University's first president (1904-31).