The Gillette Reading Room

This was the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library's Gillette Reading Room, circa 1970.  The painting on the far wall is Albert Bierstadt's Mt. Whitney.  At the time this picture was taken, the piece was on loan from the Rockwell Museum of Western Art.  It has since been returned to their collections.  Many of our former students remember it fondly!

Fast-forward 40-some years, and this is how the Gillette Reading Room looked in 2011.

The photo angle is a little different, but you can see how little had changed! Behind the column is this piece of canvas art, in place of the Bierstadt.

As of early March 2014, the Gillette Reading Room looks like this -

We have moved a few tables into the space from elsewhere in the building, because we know students use this space for studying.  But it is significantly more empty than before!  The furniture was taken away by Physical Plant workers, and will go to the college auction.  In the renovation plans, this end of the building will house staff offices and workspace(currently along the back side of the building).

The Mystery of the Missing Mace!

For many years, the Rare Book Room in the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library has been home to the college mace, a piece of Steuben crystal designed specifically for CCC and carried at graduation by the longest serving faculty member.  The mace, along with our collection of rare books, was featured in these lovely display cabinets.

However, as we prepare for the coming remodel, all this had to be removed.

 Going...

 ...going...

 ...gone!!  

All of the display cases have found new homes at SUNY Binghamton, so they will live on.  And now you may be wondering, what happened to the contents of those cases?  Well, the books are other rare materials have been carefully packed and stored elsewhere on campus.  As for the mace....

(...nonono, we didn't really let one of our librarians abscond with it!  It too has been relocated, and while no longer on display, will be accessible for graduation and other academic needs.)

Welcome!

Beginning in March of 2014, the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library at Corning Community College will be undergoing some dramatic and exciting changes, and this blog will document our progress.

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”
― Winston Churchill