At Carnegie's request, the library was named in honor of his late companion Secretary of State John Hay (Class of 1858).

[3][4] The building was constructed to a design by the Boston architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the Beaux-Arts style.

The structure was initially intended to be built of limestone, though was ultimately constructed of white marble quarried in Dorset, Vermont.

[5] The addition was designed by Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott in the Georgian style and constructed of red brick.

Notable collections include: Other notable items include a Shakespeare First Folio, the first two editions of Copernicus's De Revolutionibus (1543, 1566), a copy of Giambattista Vico’s The New Science (1730) annotated by the author, King George III’s copy of Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, a first edition of Leaves of Grass inscribed by Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde (1855), T.S.

For the definitive reference work on the history, people, and places of Brown University, please consult the Encyclopedia Brunoniana[18] by Martha Mitchell.

Consisting of photographs, moving images, artifacts, posters, drawings, cartoons, administrative records, and publications, this collection traces the earliest days of athletic competition at Brown and Pembroke up through the modern era.

This collection is supported through an endowment created by Jackson Robinson (Class of 1964), the grandson of famed Brown football coach.

In addition to correspondence, diaries, photographs, newspapers, yearbooks, and memorabilia, it also includes a collection of oral history tapes and videos.