University of Virginia Library

XX. Librarians and Rules

John V. Kean was the first person to be chosen as
librarian of the University. He was the son of Andrew
Kean, of Charlottesville, who, in recommending him to
the favorable consideration of the Board, said that he
possessed a good English education, a tolerable acquaintance
with the Latin tongue, and some small knowledge of
the Greek. A portion of this learning had been garnered
by him professionally, for, previous to his appointment in
1835, he had been a busy school-master in the adjacent
county of Louisa. He occupied the position of librarian
during nine months, at a salary of one hundred and fifty
dollars. His incumbency was concurrent with the first
session. Few functionaries of the institution were ever
so little burdened with the duties of an important post
as he, for it was not until after the close of his term
that the library was really formed. The only books of
which he could have been custodian in 1825, were such
as had been purchased abroad by Gilmer; and these must
have made up a collection of modest proportions.

The vacancy created by his retirement was filled by
William Wertenbaker, who was appointed temporarily
by Jefferson as a member of the committee of superintendence,
and in April, 1826, permanently by the Board.
Thus began this officer's connection with the University,
which he was to serve, during more than half a century,

with a diligence, fidelity, and integrity that have made
him one of the outstanding figures in its history. His
selection, while still so young a man, was a signal proof
of Jefferson's discernment. Although a mere lad at the
time, he had, through his father's influence, obtained a
seat in the clerk's office in Charlottesville, then in the
charge of Alexander Garrett. Garrett was a capable
man of business and a highly respected citizen, and under
the supervision of this excellent exemplar, young Wertenbaker
remained until he arrived at his majority. During
the War of 1812–15, he joined the company of Captain
Estes, a part of General Cocke's Brigade, and with
his musket on his sturdy shoulder, marched on foot to
Eastern Virginia to assist in repelling the British. After
the close of hostilities, he became deputy sheriff of the
county,—a position that called alike for business habits
and for personal courage. He seems to have entered
the University law school as soon as its lectures began.

Wertenbaker was chosen librarian and secretary of the
Faculty simultaneously. Opposition to his appointment
to the latter post was expressed by several professors, on
the ground that he was not a member of their body;
such an appointment, they predicted, would put a sharp
curb on the free play of their discussions; and it certainly
led to one disclosure,—that of Key angrily kicking
Blaettermann's shins under the table,—which has
caused the dignity of some of these early proceedings to
be doubted by posterity. The librarian's salary now
amounted to fifty dollars only; but the position was accompanied
by distinct advantages of another sort: it
not only took up a small share of his time, but also entitled
him to a dormitory free of rent, and to tuition in
every school without the payment of a fee. He was at
liberty too to use the volumes in his custody without being

liable for the regular charge. His earliest task, as we
have seen, was to arrange the books on the temporary
shelves in the Central College pavilion; his next was to
remove them to the alcoves and galleries of the great
circular room on the main floor of the Rotunda; and his
third, to catalogue them in the proper shape for printing.
This work was finished in 1828.

It was thought to be such a privilege to have access to
the books without being subject to the rigid restrictions,
which, as we shall soon find, were imposed on their use,
that there was no difficulty in obtaining the services of a
student as junior librarian, although no salary went with
the post. In 1827, when the senior librarian must have
been busy in his leisure hours with making up the catalogue,
his assistant was James C. Bruce, the heir to the
largest fortune in the State, and, subsequently, a planter
of wealth and distinction in Southern Virginia. Wertenbaker,
however, was determined to pursue his original
plan of being called to the bar, and in 1828, a candidate
to succeed him was brought forward by Nicholas P.
Trist in the person of Lewis Randolph, a matriculate of
the University. But Wertenbaker does not appear to
have resigned at once. In 1829, he was appointed to the
office of assistant proctor, which, carrying with it police
duties of importance, threw him more than once into
sharp collision with lawless students.[22] He also undertook
the functions of the local postmaster.

During the brief interval of his retirement from the
office of librarian, it was filled by W. H. Brockenbrough,
a kinsman of the proctor of that name, who had been so

intimately associated with Jefferson. He was, at the
same time, a student in the School of Law, and in later
life, rose to be a judge of some distinction in Florida.
The salary had been increased in 1830 to two hundred
and fifty dollars per annum. Brockenbrough proved to
be an unsatisfactory incumbent of the office. We have
referred to his absence from the University during the
heavy rains of 1834. He seems to have constantly left
his post without giving notice; and he did not always
take the trouble to engage a substitute during his absence.
In a report to the Faculty by a committee appointed in
1834 to investigate his delinquencies, he was charged with
selecting incompetent assistants; with putting off the hour
for opening the library; with admitting students without
tickets, as required by the rules; and with winking at
their taking down freely any volume that appealed to
their curiosity. Very often the library was unlocked by
the bell-ringer, a negro servant, without the librarian
being present; and not infrequently, the students entered
it privately accompanied by strangers. They kept the
books in their dormitories as long as they wished, and
were never hauled up for any damage which they had
caused to the volumes.

Proving incorrigible, Brockenbrough was compelled
to resign in July, 1835, and Wertenbaker took his place.
Under the rules adopted six months earlier, the latter
had the right to select two assistants, at least one of
whom was required to reside within the precincts. Of
the assistants named, one was his brother; the other,
Colonel Ward, who was now in charge of a University
hotel. Wertenbaker retained the office of postmaster,
and was told to expect a summons at any time to serve
as secretary of the Faculty. This duty was reimposed
upon him, the following year. In addition to being postmaster,

secretary of the Faculty, and librarian, he was,
as we have already stated, the local agent of the firm of
Street and Sanxey, the Richmond stationers. The shop
was popularly known as "Wertenbaker's book-store,"
but with his multifarious employments, it must have been
left for the most part under the eye of a clerk. At a
later date, he contracted to manage one of the hotels;
and in fact, seems to have been ready and competent to
fill any position except that of professor, at an hour's
call. He was married to the sister-in-law of Warner
Minor, the most discreet and sober-minded of the original
hotel-keepers, and, during some years, resided in the
middle building in the East Range occupied by the proctor
after the close of the War of Secession. It was his
custom, when he was advanced in age, to salute the students,
even in the late afternoon, with a cheery "good
morning"; and when his reason for this was asked, he
would reply that he bade them good morning because
they were in the morning of life,—a proof of the quaint,
but benevolent humor of the man.

The regulations for the government of the library
were drafted in March, 1825, just three days before the
University was thrown open. To the members of the
Faculty was granted the privilege of an almost unrestricted
use of the books; but no student was permitted
to carry away a volume unless he could show a request to
that effect from one of the professors; and the number
which he was allowed to remove was limited to three.
The fine imposed for the detention of a book beyond the
date assigned for its return was graduated by its physical
character: if it was a 12mo, or smaller, and he held it
back one week, he was to pay ten cents; if an octavo,
twenty cents; if a quarto, thirty; and if a folio, forty.
Should he deface a volume only moderately, he was required

to pay its full value; should he damage it seriously,
double its value; and should he lose it, three times its
value.

The librarian was ordered to be on hand in the library
once a week, and to remain at least one hour to receive all
books returned, and to give out all those that were asked
for. A professor had the right to bring back a book at
any hour, and on any day, that was convenient to him,
except Sunday. No stranger was privileged either to
enter the library, or to take down a volume from a shelf,
except in the presence of the librarian. In 1825, the
day for the latter's attendance was Monday; and in 1826,
Tuesday. So anxious were the young men to obtain the
volumes that some of them went so far as to forge their
professors' names to formal permits. In February,
1826, a box was placed outside of the library door, in
which the petitions for books were to be dropped the day
before the library opened; and on the latter day, the
volumes were handed out like loaves of charity through
the iron bars of a monastery. Later in the course of
the same year, the library was accessible to students on
every day of the week, except Sunday; but no one of them
was authorized to enter the room, unless, on the preceding
day, he had sent a note to the librarian containing
that request. A ticket was then made out with his name,
which had the advantage of being transferable. Only
twenty such tickets could be issued for a single day.
When he had succeeded in getting through the door, the
student was not permitted to take down a book of reference
without the consent of the librarian in writing. If
he was guilty of breaking the silence by speaking aloud,
or causing other noises, he was denied the privilege of a
second admission.

In 1825, every student was required to make a deposit

of one dollar as a library fee; and this was, in 1826, increased
to ten dollars; and should this sum be exhausted
at any time during the session by the volume of fines
which he had incurred for damaging or losing books, he
was compelled to renew the original amount. In October
of this year, the hour of opening the library was
shifted to half past three in the afternoon, and of closing
to five; and the only days to which this rule did not apply
were Saturday and Sunday, on which days the library remained
locked. Dr. Blaettermann suggested that each
professor should be provided with a key to the door, but
the Faculty quietly voted this proposition down. The
members of this body were quite as harsh and conscientious
in imposing rules on themselves, in the use of the
library, as they were on the students,—fifty cents was to
be paid for every day that a book was withheld by one
of themselves beyond the time fixed for its return. If
the offender had taken out a periodical, he was to pay
four dollars and a half for every day it was held back
after the first week of its unlawful detention.

In 1831, the regulation was adopted that the library
was to be accessible for a definite interval daily except
Sunday; but no student was to be permitted to enter the
room save to consult a book. He still had to receive
the removable volumes which he asked for, through a
hole in the door. The rules of 1835 required that the
library should be open, from the first day of the session
down to May 1, between the hours of three and five;
and after May 1, between the hours of four and six; but
the former regulation that only twenty students should be
admitted on any one day was still retained. The librarian
was now instructed to furnish, once every two
months, a list of all books which were held back without
his permission; of all fines that had been imposed,

whether paid or unpaid; of all damages to volumes that
had been caused by students or professors; and of all recent
additions to the collection, whether by gift or by
purchase.

An examination of the records of the library during
these earlier years brings out the fact that it was used
very liberally by the professors. Sometimes a member
of the Faculty would be credited with the possession of
as many as ten volumes. Key was the one who drew
most frequently on the resources of the collection; and
he very amiably sponsored many students who belonged
to classes other than his own. The first year the completed
library was open to readers, thirteen hundred and
forty-five volumes were taken out,—among them,
Shakespeare's Plays, sixty-three times; Johnson's works,
forty-two; Chesterfield's Letters, twenty-one; Cervantes's
Don Quixote, twenty; and Gibbon's Decline and Fall,
fourteen. Other books that enjoyed a decided popularity
were Thomson's Seasons, Sterne's Sermons, the
works of Voltaire, Locke, Bolingbroke and Robertson,
the Histories of Smollett and Hume, Middleton's Cicero,
O'Meara's Napoleon, Wirt's Patrick Henry, and Plutarch's
Lives. The number of volumes withdrawn in
the following year were thirteen hundred and twenty-four.
The favored authors during this session were again
Johnson, Gibbon, Chesterfield, Cervantes, and Shakespeare.
Among the books which had numerous readers
were Erskine's Speeches, Robertson's Histories, the
Life of Chatham, Boccaccio's Decameron, Hudibras, Old
English Plays, Thomson's Seasons, Pope's Homer,
Swift's works, and the Columbiad. Many fines were imposed
in the course of 1826,—there were thirty-nine
young men delinquent in this way, during that session;
and some of them were liable for very respectable sums.