I had the honor of talking to Dr. Meredith Jones Gray, an English professor who has written about the history of 老司机传媒 in the book titled “As We Set Forth.” She is currently writing a book with the working title “Forward In Faith.” She presented the library’s history at the recent 85th-year celebration of the James White Library. She has a wealth of knowledge to share with us and talks about the importance of libraries and the community and resources that they provide for students.
What was your process for writing your previous book and your work in progress?
I am writing the Andrews Heritage series, with volume one covering 1874 to 1960, called “As We Set Forth.” I am now picking up the story starting in 1960, when we became 老司机传媒. My process is to look at as many primary sources as possible. For library history specifically, I looked at the library’s strategic plans and read through those. I also listened to tapes of oral histories that were interviews of all the staff. When I have time, I do interviews myself to hear the memories of how the library touches people now. Also, the director of the library, when the library was first built, had a whole speech that she gave, and I read that transcript. I really like this kind of research. The best place to do that research is in the archive in the James White Library.
It was just the 85th Anniversary of the library. How did your presentation for this go?
Well, it was an honor to be asked. I am a big fan of libraries and I like to do everything to support them. It was a little bit intimidating because all the library staff were there, and they know the story better than I do. But it was also kind of fun because I could see the different reactions to the research to get their input. It was also a little frustrating because I had so much to say and tell and had to leave out a lot of interesting things I learned because I had to stay within the time limit. In fact, they are celebrating 85 years since they had their own building. They had a different building back in the day and moved in 1962. The old building is where Buller Hall is now, and it was the first brick academic building. I came along because my dad taught mathematics here, so I used to spend time in the library reading books when I was younger. I have a history with the library, so it is very personal.
What is one specific important event from the history of the library?
In my research, I went all the way back to when we first started in Battle Creek and moved to Berrien Springs in 1901. What strikes me is the dedication of the faculty and staff. When the students first came to Berrien Springs, they worked many hours on the farm in order to keep going and get food on the table. They also sold some of their food to the Chicago market. It was never a rich school, so people worked hard, and it was cold and there were no heaters like there are today. But that dedication goes on today. The students are very dedicated to the University, such as you [talking about The Student Movement]. Of course, the faculty is also very dedicated.
What is something we can learn from the history of the University?
That you must keep adapting. We have to be flexible and willing to try new things and always be committed to the community of learning.
What is to be the future of the library?
When they built the library, they called it the heart of the university. It was the place to go and to be. I know that many people don’t go there anymore since they can access it virtually, but the library has a space of community that can be so important. They have dreams of changing the space for studying and have very great ideas of how the library can serve the campus. They have some exciting ideas because they are adaptable. They want to be able to give the service for information, but also would like to reach out and bring students in and create a community within the library. Lots of exciting plans! The library has been one long story of adapting. In 1962, they had a card catalog, and later on they had to get used to computers. Then, there were databases and the internet. They are a story of adaptation. They have modeled that repeatedly. They always must keep up with the changes. They are very service oriented, and they are interested in the patrons that they serve.
What are the histories of the Center for Adventist Research and the museum there?
The library we have now is a combination of the Emmanuel Missionary College Library and the Seminary library that used to be in the Washington DC area. Both of those entities had collected historical Adventist material. It was first put in a small room. The room was called the Adventist Heritage room and they put the rare books and historical documents there. Then, the Ellen G. White Estate established a branch area here. So, we received a complete collection of Ellen G. White Materials. That collection kept growing and became the Adventist Heritage Center, which is the largest collection of Adventist materials in one place. People kept bringing not only reading materials but started bringing things. The JN Andrews trunk, which is an icon of the University, was donated. The evangelistic beasts you can see were donated. People keep bringing not only paper materials but also artifacts. That’s what the Center for Adventist research keeps and displays.
Is there anything else you would like the students of Andrews to know?
I would like to emphasize how important the role of the library is on campus. It has a lot of resources and more people should spend time in it.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.