Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery facts for kids

Albin Owings Kuhn Library & Gallery
Country	United States
Type	Academic library
Established	1968
Location	University of Maryland, Baltimore County 1000 Hilltop Circle Catonsville, Maryland 21250
Coordinates	39°15′23.5″N 76°42′41.5″W / 39.256528°N 76.711528°W / 39.256528; -76.711528
Collection
Size	1.2 million volumes
Access and use
Population served	530,000+ per year
Other information
Director	Patrick Jose Dawson

The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery is the main library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Catonsville, Maryland. It's located right in the middle of the campus. This library is a huge resource, holding over a million books and journals. It also has millions of photographs, sound recordings, and special historical documents. Besides books, the library has a cool art gallery, special collections, and study areas like the Retriever Learning Center.

History of the Library

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County started building the first part of the library in 1968. It was built on a hillside, so it has both a lower and an upper floor. As the university grew, the library also got bigger. An east wing was added in 1975. In 1982, the library was officially named after Albin Owings Kuhn. He was the first leader, or chancellor, of UMBC. Later, in 1995, a big project costing $23 million updated the library. This included a major addition and a new main entrance.

Explore Special Collections

The UMBC Special Collections Department is like a treasure chest of history. It holds many unique items. You can find old documents, artifacts, photographs, and films here. The collection has over 2 million photographs! These include works by famous photographers like Lewis Hine, Ansel Adams, Berenice Abbott, and Diane Arbus.

Other special collections include:

• The Edward L. Bafford Photographic Book Collection
• The Azriel Rosenfeld Science Fiction Research Collection
• The Alternative Press Collection
• The Marylandia Collection (about Maryland's history)
• The General Collection
• The Merkle Collection
• The Needle Collection

The department also keeps works by professors from UMBC and old materials from The Baltimore Sun newspaper.

The Retriever Learning Center

In September 2011, UMBC opened the Retriever Learning Center (RLC). This is a special study area for students. It's open 24 hours a day, so students can study whenever they need to. The RLC is on the ground floor of the library. Only UMBC students can get in using their school ID card. Inside the RLC, there's a "Math Lab" to help with math homework. There's also a seminar room for group work and a vending machine area for snacks.