Libraries and Educational Technologies Records

James Madison University’s first library was housed in Maury Hall and sat 40 students. In 1915, the library was moved to Harrison Hall, increasing its capacity to 98. Fifteen years later, a reading room was added to Harrison Hall, allowing it to seat 165 students and hold 20,000+ volumes. Despite these expansions, students called for a new building with more space and better lighting in October 1937. The following year, President Samuel Duke obtained funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) and began construction on Madison Memorial Library. The library opened on September 22, 1939, seating 350 students and holding 80,000 volumes. Increased enrollment prompted additions in 1971, 1982, and 1994. Madison Memorial Library was renamed Carrier Library in 1984 after the fourth president of the university, Ronald Carrier. Today Carrier Library contains the humanities related collections.

In August 2008, the University built a second library on East Campus. East Campus Library (ECL) doubled the staffing and services of the library. ECL was renamed Rose Library in 2012 after the fifth president of the university, Linwood H. Rose. Rose Library holds the science related collections.

The University also has two subject specific libraries: the Music Library and the Educational Technology Media Center (ETMC). The Music Library is housed in the Music Building and provides scores, sound recordings, software titles, journals, and several special collections in support of the Music department. The ETMC in Memorial Hall works with the College of Education to provide access, assistance, and maintenance to the library collection. The ETMC houses the juvenile collection, a small reference collection supported by the library materials budget, and the K-12 curriculum materials that support the College of Education.

In addition, Special Collections, located on the second floor of Carrier Library, was established in 1983 to document the history of JMU and the Central Shenandoah Valley. Today, Special Collections continues its mission of documenting the history of JMU and the Central Shenandoah Valley while also serving as Carrier Library’s repository for rare and valuable materials and supporting JMU curriculum and community research through primary source materials.

The newest member of Library and Educational Technologies is Innovation Services, located in both Carrier and Rose Library. Innovation Services is focused on creative technologies, such as 3D Printing, video production, sound recording, and virtual reality, and making them available to the JMU community.