Library History

History of the IU South Bend Libraries

Early Years

The campus’ first library began as a few shelves of books in Central High School in downtown South Bend, the location of the first IU classes in the area. In the late 1940s, a separate room was designated as the library to accommodate the growing number of students taking evening classes.

Northside Hall Location

The first building constructed for the Indiana University South Bend campus opened in 1961. Located just north of the St. Joseph River, it was dedicated in 1962 as the South Bend-Mishawaka Center and later renamed Northside Hall. A large room on the second floor, next to the center’s auditorium, was selected to house the library, with offices along an attached corridor. The first professional librarian at the center, Mary Zimmerman, began work in 1962.

*Mary Zimmerman, first librarian of the South Bend-Mishawaka Center from 1962 to 1966*

During the 1960s, the campus began to expand rapidly, thanks in large part to the authorization of four-year degree programs at IU’s regional campuses in 1965. Two new buildings were added to campus to accommodate the influx of students: Greenlawn Hall opened in 1966 (and was later demolished in 2015), and Riverside Hall (still in use today as Vera Z. Dwyer Hall) opened in early 1970.

The library operated independently until 1964, when the ordering, processing, and cataloging of library materials for all regional campuses was centralized at the IU Bloomington library. Consequently, regional libraries no longer had to pay for equipment and personnel to order and process books and could re-allocate resources to other goals, such as improving public services and maintaining a collection that reflected the school’s programs.

_{Photos courtesy of the IU South Bend Archives.}

_{Last reviewed: 08/2021}

Library History

History of the IU South Bend Libraries

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