Mudd to be sealed?
On May 25, 2006, as the Cross Campus Library was set to undergo a massive renovation that turned it into the plush Bass Library, over 100 Yale staff and faculty gathered to mark the start of construction.
A cake was served with “Farewell Original CCL” written in icing. Attendees stood among balloons and empty shelves. University Librarian Alice Prochaska donned a hard hat and began construction with the strike of a sledgehammer.
Last Friday, the Seeley G. Mudd Library officially closed to the public. There was no cake, no fanfare and no certainty for Mudd’s...
This is really bad. We'll only realize how bad in years to come. The Mudd provided direct access to the types of materials seldom available in most m/s libraries. While it was certainly true materials needed badly cataloguing, it's a pity that we'll lose such an irreplacable resource.
as an econ major, i actually spent much of the time writing my senior essay at mudd. while i never knew the story of the building, it was a great resource, and you could always find a place to work.
Mudd was the library that signalled the conduct of serious research. You knew you were digging deep if you had to go over there. Of course if the building has to go, the materials will find a home somewhere. Nevertheless, the symbolic isolation and concrete bunker ambiance of Mudd will remain memorable parts of my Yale experience.
Ah, Mudd, we hardly knew ye.
Always an odd duck, you were. And those that staffed you: what secret and secreted lives they led! And the rare student among your shelves, what research! (Often seeking grist for greater anti-government anger they were.)
Times change. Let us look forward to a Mudd room (or, heck, a Mudd library) within the new Swensen & Giamatti colleges!