University of Virginia Library

Clark Hall Controversy

not known, but when
questioned, Ray Frantz said
the decision was made before
he arrived in 1967. According
to a faculty member who
served on previous Library
Committees, Clark Hall was
announced as the location
during the 1968-1969 academic
year.

Thus arose the Clark Hall
controversy, an issue that is
still unsettled even at this date.

Two main questions come
to mind when dealing with the
Clark Hall decision. First, why
was Clark Hall chosen, and was
the choice made with or
without expert advice.

Second, is Clark Hall the
best choice. Will it provide an
undergraduate library that is
both economical and practical?

Deals

Winthrop Adams, a student
member of the library
Committee for the past five
years, said that the Clark Hall
decision was the result of a
"deal" made with state
legislature Appropriations
Committee.

According to Mr. Adams
and several other Committee
members, when President
Shannon announced the Clark
Hall decision, he told the
Committee that a commitment
had been made to place the
undergraduate library in Clark
Hall in return for funds to
build the new Law School.

As to whether this decision
was made with or without
consultation, the answer
appears to be no. Both the
Russell Bailey report and John
Wyllie's recommendations
stressed the fact that an
undergraduate library should
be located near the main
building, hardly the case with
Clark Hall.

Apparently, some members
of the administration made the
supposedly logical deduction
that since Clark Hall contained
a fairly large library of its own,
it would be little trouble to
convert the Law Library to an
undergraduate library.

This deduction, however,
did not at all seem logical to
many members of the Library
Committee, both student and
faculty.