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 | http://www.library.fordham.edu/ |
The William D. Walsh Family Library is a large library located at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. It's a very important part of the university's Rose Hill Campus. In 2004, a guide called The Best 351 Colleges even ranked this library as one of the top five in the entire country! It was placed higher than libraries at famous schools like Yale, Harvard, and Columbia.
History of the Library
The William D. Walsh Family Library first opened its doors in 1997. Before this, the university's original library, called Duane Library, was getting too small. It couldn't hold all the new books and materials.
Once the Walsh Family Library was finished, the old Duane Library was closed to students and teachers. It stayed empty for a few years. Then, in 2004, it was updated. Now, it serves as a welcome center for visitors and is home to the university's theology department.
What You Can Find Inside
The Walsh Family Library is huge! It covers more than 240,000 square feet across five floors. Inside, you'll find over 1 million books and other materials. It also holds 380,000 official papers from the U.S. government.
The library is named after William Walsh. He was a student at Fordham University who gave a lot of money to help build it. All the library services at the Rose Hill Campus are found here. This includes special sections for science books, movies and music, and electronic resources. There are also areas for government documents, old records, and special collections.
A Museum of Ancient Art
Since 2007, the library has also been home to the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art. This museum displays more than 200 amazing art pieces. These items come from ancient Greece, Etruria (an old civilization in Italy), and Rome. William Walsh and his wife, Jane, collected these pieces over time. They bought them at public art sales and then donated them to the university.
The museum also has a collection of 732 ancient coins. These were given by Thomas Maroney. In 2013, some beautiful Byzantine mosaics were also added to the collection. These were given by someone who wished to remain anonymous.
