Ida Belle Young Library Tower

Exploring Alabama’s largest library in the Montgomery area

“They are always here to help.” — The Inter-library Loan and Access Services Librarian, Karen Williams

The Ida Belle Young library tower is a 10 story tall building located on the campus of Auburn University at Montgomery. The library was built in two different phases. The first phase of the building was the administration building, that was built in 1971. The construction of the tower started in 1982 and was officially done in 1984.

Compared to other university libraries, AUM’s is similar in that the library centrally located on the campus.

The number of people that use this library fluctuates depending on the university’s academic calendar. In the year of 2017, there were 231,847 people who visited the library.

The library tower as it stands today.

The Beginning of the 10-Story Tower

The current administration building was originally the library, and it had only 3 stories. Upgrading to the 10-story tower was a major boost.

Visually, there have not been any changes the the structure of the library. As far as the landscape, there has been more plant life added around the building and extra parking behind the building.

The Administration building before the tower was built. (Photo courtesy of Samantha McNeilly)

This is the completed library tower. (photo courtesy of Samantha McNeilly)

Over the past few years, usage of the library has gone up, even though the library has always been a popular place for students to come and study or just hang out with one another.

The style and layout was chosen by Chancellor Funderburk. The Chancellor went to multiple universities looking for inspiration for the new library. After searching, Chancellor Funderburk chose to go with a 10-story library tower. The style for the library was inspired by the 80s building style, or the style at that time.

Samantha McNeilly, Library Instruction Coordinator is knowledgeable of the library’s history. on what was on there before the library. She says essentially, there was nothing on the land before the two buildings were built. However, before the university bought the land where the campus is now located, there was a cotton plantation in its place.

Location

The Ida Belle Young library tower is located on the Auburn University at Montgomery campus. It sits between the Nursing building and Goodwyn Hall.

The location for the library was chosen based on the need to fill the campus, since it was the second building put on campus. The first building put on campus was Goodwyn Hall, and directly to the right of this building is the library tower.

My classmate also wrote an article about the tower.

What Makes it Special

With each building there are many interesting facts about it

• The librarians initially did not want the library tower because it would be harder to maintain the books due to the elevation.
• There is a weather radar on the rooftop of the tower that is in partnership with the WSFA Weather center.
• A former employee of the library swore that there were ghosts on the second floor of the library. The library has the former employee’s typed stories in the library.
• Students can schedule an appointment with a librarian if they need help with research.

The Ida Belle Young Library tower will continue to have plans for itself, the community and the university. For now, the only plans they have is to “eventually” update the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system .

Photo Gallery

(photos courtesy of Kaleria Jackson)

Students gathering around to talk with each other. The students were communicating on the second floor of the library.

Students were studying hard for their classes towards the back part of the second floor towards the Warhawk Academic Success Center.

The outside of the Administration building today.

Goodwyn Hall sits besides the library tower on its left side. this is also one of the first building that was on Auburn University at Montgomery’s campus.

The Warhawk Academic Success Center is located on the second floor of the library, students are able to come get help with their school work here.

The library tower from a distance. If you look at the top of the tower you can see a white ball, which is the weather radar.

The Learning Center can be found on the second floor of the library. The Learning Center is where students can get free tutoring in almost every subject that is taught at the institution.

More about this article:

This article was written as a creative project assignment for a journalism course, Media Writing II, at Auburn University at Montgomery in Spring 2018. The course was taught by Eman Shurbaji in collaboration with Exploring Montgomery’s founder, Cyle Conoly.

The project’s articles showcase many diverse buildings and their history in Montgomery.

• A bit of worship history at Old Ship African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church by Jayla Coleman
• The State Farmers Market by Cierra Juett explores a popular — and largely healthy — shopping destination
• Community love for the performing arts is seen at Cloverdale Playhouse by Brittany Vallely
• In depth coverage of the beloved Alabama Shakespeare Festival by Kodi Robertson and a short article by Brittany Nobles
• Photos capture great heights at AUM in Ida Belle Young Library Tower by Kaleria Jackson
• More coverage (with Curtiss the Warhawk!) of the Ida Belle Young Library Tower by Selina Johnson
• Tourist attraction F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum is examined in light of the home by Kywanna Johnson and the writing ventures by Mike Breen
• Free and growing Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is covered in light of its official website by Nyla Hooks
• Iconic Civil Rights moments are revisited at the Rosa Parks Museum by Brandon Barker
• A closer look at downtown entertainment landmark Davis Theatre by Alexandrea Moore
• Independent films and a deep roots are explored at Capri Theatre by Destin Davis
• State-of-the-art sports venue Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Stadium is visited by Dana Horton