A library is central to the life of a community; it nurtures the populace and, in turn, is nurtured by those for whom it holds the past and opens the future. Although this is true of any community and its library, it is especially so at a university library such as ours. We are fortunate to have this truth demonstrated in the acquisition of the two-millionth volume for our University Libraries. It is demonstrated as well in the addition we announce today of the first volume to move us toward a collection of three million volumes. In both instances, these gifts come from the community. Our celebration today, therefore, is not just to mark a milestone in the remarkable development of the University Libraries; it also is a celebration of the contributions that many individuals have made to our success.

- Robert L. Ketter
  President, University at Buffalo

Address of Saktidas Roy

We are privileged today to have you with us to celebrate the attainment of a milestone in the history and development of the University Libraries of the State University of New York at Buffalo. The collection of the University Libraries has acquired its two millionth volume, an event most worthy of commemorating.

"This is the day on which the Library of this University may be said to have come of age." So remarked Dr. Stephen A. McCarthy, former Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries, when he addressed the gathering at the observance of the acquisition of the millionth volume in 1968. If he were with us today, Dr. McCarthy would be pleased to witness this new milestone. It may be said that the collection of the Libraries has reached maturity today after only 13 additional years of care and nurturing by our capable staff.

From modest beginnings as a small medical school in 1846, the University has become the largest University Center in the State University of New York system. The first library at the University served the early medical school. In 1922, the University Libraries, consisting of that Medical Library, the Law Library, and the General University Library, were formed with the General University Library located in Foster Hall on the Main Street Campus. That library moved to a much larger space in Edmund Hayes Hall on the Main Street Campus in 1927 where it stayed until the original Lockwood Library, the "princely gift" of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas B. Lockwood, donated in memory of their fathers, Daniel N. Lockwood and George K. Birge, was built in 1935. At that time, the Libraries' collection was 111,009 volumes.

When the University Libraries were established in 1922, three libraries held a total collection of 14,696 volumes. Now the University Libraries system includes 11 separate libraries with a total collection of two million volumes. In 1921/22, the University Libraries were used by 20,743 people while 2,594,913 used them in 1980/81.

In 1967, the Libraries were admitted to membership in the Association of Research Libraries, an organization of the largest and most prestigious research and academic libraries in North America. The collection of the Libraries reached one million volumes in 1968, a collection size which was matched at that time by 51 other ARL libraries. Of the 111 ARL libraries today, the University Libraries are among the 41 with collections of two million or more volumes.

In the brief span of 46 years, therefore, the collection of the University Libraries has grown from 111,009 to two million volumes; no mean achievement for such a young institution. At the same time our collection is more mature and more attuned to the academic programs of the University than ever before.

As part of this celebration, we should recall the outstanding contributions made by our predecessors in developing the University Libraries collection, particularly the contributions of Mrs. Ruth Bartholomew, our first University Librarian, Mr. Charles D. Abbott, our first Director of the University Libraries, and Dr. Oscar A. Silverman, Mr. Abbott's successor. The names of Charles D. Abbott and Oscar A. Silverman will be associated with the Libraries of this University as long as they exist. In fact, the Abbott-Silverman years may very well be called the golden years of the University Libraries, for the rapid growth of the Libraries was largely the result of their imagination, foresight, vigor, and effective leadership.

Our two millionth acquisition is a 1584 edition of Rerum Polonicarum, compiled by Alexandro Guagnino, a rich gift from the Polish Community of Buffalo. It is most appropriate that this rare and important book in Polish history has been selected for this honor and that it has been donated by the Polish community. The contributions made by that group to the growth and development of this University are well known and substantial. The University is very proud that its Libraries were chosen as the site of a rich Polish collection of history and culture, a collection housed in the Polish Room of the Lockwood Library. The development of this collection is the product of over 25 years of cooperation between the Polish community, the Polish Arts Group of Buffalo in particular, and the University. This unique collection continues to bring the Polish cultural heritage to the attention of scholars, educators, and the general public. The Libraries are currently working on a project to publish the catalog of this important special collection.

The collection of a library is not static, and we recognize the need to continually expand and upgrade holdings. The creative use of new technology will provide more varied formats in which information will be conveyed. More and more information will be available on-line as well as on tape cassettes, video discs, and other electronic formats. There is no question that new technology is bound to change our Libraries. However, their basic function will remain the same. Also, books will continue to be the major component of our collection, and although we may add fewer volumes in the coming years, the Libraries and their collections will continue to be the foremost tools available to the faculty and students.

- Saktidas Roy
  Director, University at Buffalo Libraries