By 1920, the Library had expanded to include a storage area on the fifth floor and the reading room covered part of a hallway.

Mary Josephine Booth, who became University Librarian in 1904, lobbied for a free-standing library building for many years.

Construction began for an annex in 1967, which extended shelving capacity to 475,000 volumes and expanded seating areas to hold 1,300 people.

The library collection consists of more than 978,209 cataloged volumes, approximately 1.2 million microtexts, as well as maps, music scores, and pamphlets selected to support the university's educational mission.

Additional electronic systems provide online access to a variety of periodical and subject databases.