William D. Walsh Family Library facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The William D. Walsh Family Library |
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| Country | United States |
| Established | 1997 |
| Location | Rose Hill campus, Fordham University, The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Collection | |
| Size | 1 million volumes |
| Website | https://www.fordham.edu/resources/libraries/ |
The William D. Walsh Family Library is a very important library. It is located at Fordham University's Rose Hill Campus. You can find it in the Bronx, a part of New York City. In 2004, a book called The Best 351 Colleges gave this library a high rank. It was ranked fifth in the whole country! This was even higher than famous libraries at Yale, Harvard, and Columbia.
Library History: How It Started
The William D. Walsh Family Library opened its doors in 1997. Before this, Fordham University had an older library called Duane Library. But the Duane Library became too small. It could not hold all the new books and materials. So, a new, bigger library was needed.
After the Walsh Family Library was finished, the old Duane Library closed. It stayed empty for a few years. Then, in 2004, it was updated. It became a place for visitors and the main office for the theology department.
What's Inside: Books and Art
This library is huge! It covers more than 240,000 square feet. That's like having many basketball courts inside. It has five floors filled with amazing things. The library holds over 1 million books. It also has 380,000 government documents from the U.S.
The library is named after William Walsh. He was a student at Fordham University a long time ago. Mr. Walsh gave a lot of money to help build this library. All the library services for the Rose Hill campus are here. This includes science books, movies, and special collections.
Ancient Art: A Special Museum
Since 2007, the library has also been home to a special museum. It's called the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art. This museum shows off more than 200 pieces of ancient art. These pieces are from Greece, Etruria, and Rome. William Walsh and his wife, Jane, collected these art pieces. They bought them at art auctions.
The museum also has a collection of 732 old coins. These coins were given by Thomas Maroney. In 2013, some beautiful Byzantine mosaics were also donated. These mosaics are ancient art made from small colored pieces.
