Library to Celebrate Anniversary with Reception

HOLLAND - The Van Wylen Library at Hope College will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a reception on Monday, April 21, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The reception will include a brief program at 2:30 p.m. as well as refreshments.

The public is invited.  Admission is free.

The reception has been scheduled to commemorate the library's dedication on April 21, 1988, and the two decades that the building has served since.

"Van Wylen Library has been a marvelous addition to the college," said David Jensen, director of libraries, who came to Hope in 1984 as the college began planning the new building and will be retiring at the end of the current school year.  "This award-winning structure has been the catalyst for improvements to library collections, services and staffing.  It led directly to expanded use by students and prompted the staff to match the quality of services and collections to the high quality of the building.  Van Wylen Library helped energize the whole academic program at Hope."

"After 20 years the Van Wylen Library continues to be highly functional for students, faculty and library staff," Jensen said.  "The quality of the design is evident in the ageless beauty of the building, the warmth of the wood, the variety of study spaces and the presence of natural light throughout the library.  The quality of the building has fueled the quality of library service and that in turn has contributed to the quality of scholarship on campus."

Construction on the $8.7 million library began in March 1986, and the building opened on Jan. 14, 1988, shortly after the start of the spring semester that year.  The day-long dedication celebration in April 1988 had included a convocation featuring an address by prominent American historian Dr. John Hope Franklin; a parade; and a Renaissance fair.

The library is named for Dr. Gordon Van Wylen, who was the ninth president of HopeCollege, and his wife Dr. Margaret Van Wylen.  The project's architect was the firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston, Mass., and the general contractor was Pioneer Construction of Grand Rapids.  Library furnishings including a chair custom-designed for the building and named "The Anchor Chair" were by the Worden Company of Holland and office furniture by Zeeland-based Herman Miller Inc.

The library replaced the Van Zoeren Library, which had opened in 1961.  Now Van Zoeren Hall, the former library is connected to the Van Wylen Library through a second-floor link and serves as a classroom and office building.

The Hope library has 21 full- and part-time staff, who during the school year are assisted by approximately 100 part-time student employees. The library provides 24/7 access to thousands of digital scholarly resources including electronic journals, books, reference works, images, music and databases in addition to housing more than 370,000 volumes at the Van Wylen Library and the Nykerk Hall of Music library.

In 1989, the library received an Award of Excellence for Library Architecture from the 1989 Library Buildings Award Jury of the American Institute of Architects.  In 2004, the Van Wylen Library was named the national winner in the college category of the "Excellence in Academic Libraries Award" presented by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).

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