Benedictine Library History: St. Procopius Library, Benedictine Hall, 1901-1963

"There were actually two libraries located in the front building of Benedictine Hall. They were open to students at stated periods. They contained, in all, about 7,000 volumes. Amongst the works of reference are especially valuable: Two sets of the Catholic Encyclopedia, two sets of the Ottuv Slovnik, an Encyclopedia in the Bohemian language, the American Encyclopedia; several other minor Encyclopedias, Standard and Webster Unabridged Dictionaries; a complete list of English, Bohemian, Slovak, German, French and Spanish classics. The Libraries are also supplied with a large number of magazines, literary missionary and scientific; several newspapers, English, Bohemian, Slovak and Polish."

This description of the library appeared in the 1915-1916 edition of The Procopian, pages 14-5:

"Like all other libraries, ours had its modest beginning. But friends, in the course of time, helped to fill the shelves. In 1918 the faculty, realizing the inadequacy of our library, bought several thousand volumes. This individual purchase is still by far the greatest in the history of our library.

"Now the library seemed to assume a new aspect. It began to show its real worth and purpose. Regular reading hours filled the chairs each day. The books, no longer unwilling to lose each other's companionship, were withdrawn from the shelves and circulated. In a word, the library began to serve the purpose which its name implies, due to the expert work of the Librarian, the Rev. Adolph Hrdlicka, O.S.B.

"The developmental impetus given in 1918 has since promoted the growth of our library. Money was not spared when any new subject or field of knowledge needed further representation. Reliable works continued to cover the latest progress in all subjects. In this manner a full reference library, both for the student and for the instructor, was built up."

The description above was taken from the 1921-1922 edition of Saint Procopius Announcements, pages 9-10.