Virtual Tour
Welcome to Abbott Library's virtual tour. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Abbott Library arranges on-site tours for students, faculty and staff, alumni, and other interested individuals. Contact Pamela Rose at 716-829-5722 for more information.
Background
The oldest library in the University Libraries system with a rich history, the Abbott Library is located in Abbott Hall on the South Campus. For details of the locations of our collections, offices, computer and study areas, view the marvelous floor plans.
The original building constructed in the 1930s housed the Lockwood Memorial Library until 1978 when the library and the name moved to new quarters on the North Campus.
The current entrance is through the addition constructed in 1986 when the renamed Abbott Hall was renovated specifically for Abbott Library.
Our primary clientele include the faculty, staff and students of five of UB's Schools: Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Dental Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Public Health and Health Professions, but we also serve the entire UB constituency as well as the Western New York community.
Abbott Library is also a Regional Resource Library through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and maintains partnerships with a variety of other local and regional organizations and programs.
Hours
The Library is open seven days a week during semester instruction. Hours are posted each semester including any exceptions for holidays and breaks. Hours for the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection are posted separately.
Services
Abbott Library offers a variety of services and access to resources both in the library, through the Abbott Library Web site, and through the Catalog. Our vast electronic resources collection offers thousands of e-journals, e-serials and databases linked from the web page.
Abbott Library teaches workshops which emphasize resource retrieval skills, as well as critical thinking and problem solving. Contact Pamela Rose for more information.
Interlibrary loan and document delivery services are offered through Delivery+.
Secure wireless connection is available through the building.
Reference staff are on call to remotely assist patrons with library research Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm. 829-5683, Email askHSL or call 716-829-5683. Chat is also available 24/7.
Collections
Abbott Library continues to maintain an impressive print collection in addition to our vast electronic resources. A few current print journals as well as books and media are available to browse on site, or patrons can request a book through Delivery+ from materials stored off-site in our Annex. Faculty may request articles and books delivered directly to their offices via Delivery+, and students may request pdf articles and books delivered to the UB library of their choice or their home address.
Users interested in historical materials can browse the marvelous array of materials housed within the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection (see Lower Level below).
Lower Level
The lower level houses the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection and one of two quiet study areas.
The History collection includes historical materials in all areas of the health sciences, including dentistry, medicine nursing, pharmacy, & public health, as well as the Edgar R. McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection, Historical artifacts from the UB School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Digitized Notebooks, Photographs, and Ephemera of Doctor Homer T. Jackson, M.D., and Medical Newspaper Clippings, 1901-1906.
First Floor
The main entrance of the Abbott Library on the South side of Abbott Hall leads to the first floor.
The main floor study area is located behind the main staircase, through the stone columns (which formed the South outside wall of the original building before its renovation in 1986). Patrons affiliated with UB have use of computer workstations set up to provide optimal access to all the University Libraries' resources. The elevator to the right of the entrance gate offers easy access to the lower level, second and third floors.
Second Floor
The second floor contains Abbott Library's magnificent Austin Flint Main Reading Room, designated a silent study area, as well as our collection of printed books. Several computer stations are also located just off the elevator for convenience.
During renovation of Abbott Hall from 1983-85, care was taken to preserve the Reading Room so it currently appears much as it was when first built. The design was modelled from a room in Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England, built in the first decade of the 17th century for Sir Robert and William Cecil, Earls of Salisbury.
The oak fireplace mantel is hand-carved and modelled after a 15th Century mantel found in Canonbury Tower, London, England.
The woodwork is not signed, but was carved by the Lipsett brothers, immigrants from Germany who worked for the Kittinger Company, a famous Buffalo institution who produced furniture for the White House. The company still practices its craft in the area.
Both chandeliers were salvaged from the John J. Albright's Tudor mansion (also built by E.B. Green), which was under demolition during construction of the original Lockwood building in the 1930s. More details in the History below.
Third Floor
The third floor houses the Architecture & Planning, which offers online and print resources that support the curriculum of the School of Architecture & Planning, as well as computer workstations and a scanner.
History
The Abbott Library was founded, along with the medical school in 1846. It was housed in the medical school's three buildings prior to moving to the South Campus in the 1950s. HSL resided first in the original Capen Hall (now Farber), moved to Tower Hall, and subsequently to Abbott in 1986.
Abbott Library's current location is in Abbott Hall on the South Campus of the University at Buffalo. Originally named Lockwood Memorial Library, the building was a gift of Thomas B. Lockwood (1873-1947, a Buffalo attorney), and his wife, Marion Birge Lockwood, in memory of their respective parents, Daniel N. Lockwood and George K. Birge. The building was designed by eminent architect E.B. Green and built at a cost of $500,000. A brief summary of the building's evolution resides on the University Library Archives Web site.
E.B. Green modeled the original elegant building after the Villa Rotunda by the Renaissance architect Palladio. When renovated for Abbott Library in the mid-1980s, great care was taken to preserve the original reading room, which patrons entered after climbing the impressive stairway and passing through the beautiful stone columns.
Green designed the now named Austin Flint Reading Room after a room in Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England. The room features English oak paneling and a huge fireplace with an intricately carved mantel modelled after a mantel in England's Canonbury Tower. All the wood in the room was carved by the Lipsett brothers, immigrants from Germany who worked for the Kittinger Company, a famous Buffalo furniture manufacturer who constructed furniture for the White House, and still practices in the area.
The twin antique chandeliers were originally constructed in the 1840s and electrified in the 1930s when they were installed here. Green was demolishing the Tudor mansion of John J. Albright (which he also designed) in 1935 during the same time he was overseeing the building of Lockwood. He chose to salvage not only the chandeliers but also the stone balustrade, which still graces the original front of Abbott Hall. A bit more background on Albright with photos of his mansion can be found on the Western New York Heritage Press web site.