Fondren Library | |
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29°43′05″N95°24′00″W / 29.718°N 95.400°W | |
Location | Houston, Texas, United States |
Fondren Library is the main library of Rice University in Houston, Texas. [1] The library is named for Walter W. Fondren, a co-founder of the Humble Oil & Refining Company, whose family donated $1 million in 1946 for construction of the library. The building was designed by Houston architect John F. Staub and was notable for its open stack arrangement and art deco influence in the architecture. The library was dedicated on November 4, 1949. The library celebrated its 60th birthday in 2009.
An addition to the back of the building in 1969, formally known as the Graduate Research Wing, added 99,000 square feet (9,200 m2) of research space including study rooms, stacks space, and space for the library's special collections, the Woodson Research Center (named for Benjamin Woodson). In December 1997, the Hobby Foundation designated $21.4 million specifically for improvements in Fondren Library. This gift allowed for additional space planning including the building in 2004 of the Library Service Center, a high-density offsite shelving facility that houses less-used materials in a climate-controlled environment. In 2005-06, Fondren underwent an extensive renovation creating access through the entire library, a new first-floor Hobby Information commons, and a Rice-only study space on the sixth floor with dynamic views of the campus. [2] [3]
The mission statement is as follows: "The mission of the Fondren Library of Rice University is to support the highest aspirations of the University in the areas of research, teaching, and service, through innovative research and information services, access to scholarly resources, collaborative alliances, and provision and shared use of physical and virtual spaces."
Fondren Library currently subscribes to more than 141,000 journals in multiple formats and houses more than 2.8 million print volumes and 3 million microforms. The library is a selective depository of U.S. and Texas government publications and a depository for U.S. patents and trademarks. Woodson Research Center contains more than 475 manuscript collections with emphasis on Texas, Houston, history, science, and English literature.
Woodson contains more than 475 manuscript collections focused on the history of Texas and the greater Houston area, politics, entrepreneurship, and oil and gas. Other subject areas include American Civil War history, hip hop/rap music-related materials from the Swishahouse record label, [4] science, and literary authors with Rice connections. Also in the Center are the papers of Rice University faculty members and alumni with achievements in the humanities, sciences, engineering, and the arts. Woodson also contains substantial materials related to the composer Francis Poulenc, the biologist Julian Huxley, and the Houston businessman and politician Jesse H. Jones.
Rice University, formally William Marsh Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It sits on a 300-acre campus adjacent to the Houston Museum District and the Texas Medical Center.
William Marsh Rice was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was part of a plot to forge Rice's will. The instigator of the murder, attorney Albert T. Patrick, was sentenced to death.
Swishahouse is an independent southern rap record label and hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas.
Norman Wood Charlton III, nicknamed "the Sheriff", is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Sara Hickman is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.
Richard James Joseph Dobson II was an American singer-songwriter and author. Dobson was part of the outlaw country movement and spent time in the 1970s with Townes Van Zandt, Mickey White, Rex "Wrecks" Bell, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and "Skinny" Dennis Sanchez.
Vince Bell is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the PBS television program Austin City Limits along with NPR broadcasts such as Mountain Stage, World Cafe and Morning Edition. His songs have been performed and recorded by Little Feat, Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith.
Edgar Odell Lovett was an American educator and education administrator.
The University Libraries are the academic library system for Bowling Green State University and its regional campuses.
Woodson Research Center is an archive located in Fondren Library at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The Center is named for Benjamin N. Woodson and houses the special collections of Rice University's Fondren Library which includes manuscript collections, rare books, and the Rice University archives. Within the manuscript collections, there are archives focused on specific collecting areas, which include the Houston Asian American Archive, the Houston Folk Music Archive, and the Houston Jewish History Archive.
Arthur Evan Jones is an architect based in Houston, Texas and a 1947 graduate of Rice University. His work with firms he partnered with in Houston include buildings and landmarks such as the Astrodome, Foley's, the Allen Centers, and Greenway Plaza, and buildings on the grounds of educational institutions such as the Kinkaid School, the University of Houston, and Rice University.
The University of North Texas Libraries is an American academic research library system that serves the constituent colleges and schools of University of North Texas in Denton. The phrase "University of North Texas Libraries" encompasses three aspects: The library collections as a whole and its organizational structure; The physical facilities and digital platform that house the collections; and certain self-contained collections of substantial size that warrant the name "Library"—the Music Library and the Digital Libraries (collections), for example, are housed in Willis Library.
The South Texas National Bank, located at 215 Main Street in Houston, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1978. It was demolished for parking in 1983.
Vera Prasilova Scott was a Czech-American photographer and sculptor. Her main work, which consisted of shadowed, gelatin silver photographs of Houstonian upper class society and intellectuals, has been preserved at the Rice University Woodson Research Center, the Museum of Czech Literature, and the Portland Museum of Art.
Don Sanders was an American singer-songwriter from Houston, Texas. Due to his unique blend of storytelling and songwriting he was sometimes called a "folk humorist." Throughout the years he shared the stage with Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Lightnin' Hopkins, Vince Bell and Janis Joplin. Sanders was an educator, a musician, a one-time founder of an independent record label, a founding member of KPFT radio, and a writer.
Sand Mountain Coffee House was a venue and home to Houston folk musicians from 1965 to 1977. Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Don Sanders were notable installations who wrote, performed, and sometimes lived at the coffee house.
Wheatfield started in 1973 as an acoustic folk trio based in Houston. The band was known for an eclectic style that drew on folk, country, rock, and jazz influences - Americana before its time. The group comprised Craig Calvert, Connie Mims, Cris “Ezra” Idlet, Bob Russell, Damian Hevia, and Keith Grimwood and was managed by Bob Burton. Wheatfield disbanded in 1979, but its members reunited in 2004 to perform and produce new music.
John A. Lomax Jr. was an American folklorist, performer, and land developer. He co-founded the Houston Folklore & Music Society and contributed to the preservation and publication of folklore and folk music during the 20th century, continuing the work of his father and brother. Lomax once defined folk music as "a story in song written no one knows when, no one knows where, no one knows by whom or even why."
The Houston Folklore & Music Society is a group dedicated to keeping alive traditional folk music and lore.
The Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA) is a faculty-led, student-run archive with both digital and physical presence at Rice University, for the sole purpose of scholarship. The Archive consists primarily of its oral history collection of over 300 interviews; in addition, it also runs programs such as exhibitions which showcase the archival materials, interactive and creative community projects, podcasts, panels discussions and other events surrounding the topics of Asian and Asian American experiences. The Archive is managed by the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University.