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Winter 1998, Vol. 60, No. 2

In the beginning there was light. No matter where. All of Augsburg's libraries were, and are, described with that same word and all, toward the end, were said to be cramped and losing the fight with advancing technology, until now.

The first official library, in Old Main, with 476 volumes, started Augsburg's history of light libraries when it was said, even though it was in the basement, that it was light and inviting with adequate sitting space. But years later, after a huge increase in the student body and thousands more volumes in the library collection, which was made possible with help from alumni, the library had far surpassed its original space; all knew the library needed a new home but it wasn't until the appointment of head librarian Anges Tangjerd in the fall of 1940 that talk and plans for a new place to study began.

Tangjerd found the library to be inadequate. In 1946 a reporter for the Echo caught Tangjerd in a candid moment talking about a magazine rack, "That's the most awful thing I have ever seen!"

Later in the article, the reporter writes, "She told me about the chair that came apart under a student's weight the other day, and the window frame that fell out when she tried to let in a little fresh air."

"It served its purpose in that time," said Olive Ronholm '47, former student assistant in the library, about the basement library. But, she explained, there wasn't enough room for students to study in the library so "we would go to the Walter Library at the university [Minn.] ... or to the public library."

A new library where students could remain on campus to do research wasn't founded until 1953 when the Board of Trustee's began the "Advance Campaign." Students and alumni rallied around to raise funds and two years later in August 1955 the Sverdrup Library opened. Once again it was described as being spacious and beautiful. The Echo wrote in September of that year that "light, color and air are usually the first impressions of a person walking into the new library."

James and Jean Lindell cut the ribbon at the library dedication.

As the years rolled by though the Sverdrup Library began to succumb to the same misgivings as its older sibling: it was too small for the 165,000 volumes and too outdated for the advancing technology of the '90s. Sophmore Jennifer Rensenbrink echoed the same sentiments about the Sverdup Library as Ronholm did two generations earlier about the library. "Last year," said Rensenbrink, "I had to go to the U of M library to do research but now I can do it all in the Lindell Library." Grace Sulerud '58, collections development librarian, has spent time in all three libraries. As a student in the 50s she recalls the basement library as being "very dark and small,"

Now with the impressive 21,000-square-foot library with its huge sky light and glass wall overlooking Foss Center, the idea of running out of room seems impossible. Perhaps 200 years from now, the library will need to incorporate the tools of Star Trek, using Albert Einstein and Jane Austen holographs to teach students. But today, the Lindell Family Library stands as a firm and beautiful testament to Augsburg's commitment to a liberal arts education.

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A librarian's lament: Augsburg Echo, Nov. 22, 1946

A library progresses forward: a review of Echo articles as Sverdrup rose

Agnes Tangjerd: ode to the librarian