Then & Now - Cumberlands Library

Then & Now

Since Cumberlands’ founding in 1888, many things have changed about this institution in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. In this section, we peel back the layers of time for a glimpse at what life was like “back in the day” to see what is different – and what has stayed remarkably similar – from then to now.

Late in 1957, Mrs. N.B. Perkins indicated her desire to make an initial pledge of $25,000 to Cumberlands for the purpose of having a building erected in memory of her daughter, Mrs. Norma Jeanne Perkins Hagan, who, with her husband and 46 other passengers, lost their lives in an airplane when it crash-landed in the Pacific Ocean en route from San Francisco to Honolulu.

Mrs. Hagan had been a member of Cumberlands’ Board of Trustees and was the granddaughter of Dr. Ancil Gatliff.

On December 20, 1957, the Executive Committee of the Board voted unanimously to accept the pledge of $25,000 and to erect a library to be known as the Norma Jeanne Perkins Hagan Memorial Library as soon as sufficient funds were available to do so.

The library, located on Walnut Street west of the gymnasium, was constructed on three levels and housed Cumberlands’ book collection, offices, receiving and processing areas, the instructional media center, and the computer facilities.

The ground breaking ceremony for the library was held on October 14, 1959, and the building was first occupied in 1960 and dedicated on May 13, 1961. Thanks to the Steele-Reese Foundation and the Pew Memorial Trusts, the library was modernized and filled with new, “state of the art” equipment in the 1980s.

Since that time, a long list of generous grants from The Grover Hermann Foundation have made possible several crucial projects around campus, such as the construction of a men’s residence hall, construction of a convocation and recreation center, and now the newest renovation to Cumberlands’ library.

In 2018, University of the Cumberlands embarked on a $7.8 million campaign to modernize the library into a 21st century learning center. The Grover Hermann Foundation was again a major contributor to Cumberlands, providing a $5 million gift to the campaign.

The new architectural design includes a first floor filled with technology booths, a coffee bar and café, computer areas, rooms for quiet study, and a portion of the library’s media collection. The second floor includes the bulk of the library’s collection, in addition to a couple classrooms and plenty of seating and study areas. An elevator has been added, increasing access to all floors.