Library History

In addition to the library rooms in Boynton Hall and Alden Memorial, sets of books were kept by academic departments for use by students and faculty. There was no uniform standards of service, available hours, or a control system to monitor the books. The issues that arose from a lack of basic library services for the growing student body forced campus administrators to consider the construction of a dedicated library building, though the project was often delayed owing to more pressing needs. By 1963, the issues raised by the students and faculty owing to a lack of a centralized library were too great to ignore. It was then a generous gift that would forever alter the campus landscape.

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, George Crompton Gordon graduated from WPI in 1895, with a degree in mechanical engineering. His career included managing and eventually co-owning many of the most successful manufacturing plants in New England before relocating to Cleveland, Ohio. During World War I, Gordon supervised the preparation of the crankshaft for the first Liberty Aviation Motor and during World War II his crankshafts were used by the US Navy in anti-submarine warfare. A cherished citizen and alumnus, Gordon died on May 27, 1964. Before his death, his planned gift of $5,000,000 allowed then WPI President Harry Purnell Storke to push forward the crowning achievement of his campus revitalization plan, the construction of a dedicated library. At the time, it was the largest single gift in WPI history.

As WPI administrators, along with new librarian Albert G. Anderson, Jr., planned the new library, a site was selected on the hillside facing Boynton Street.  Anderson was enthusiastic in sharing plans for a host of modern amenities including carpeted lounges, air conditioning, study areas, typing rooms, and a film center. 

Storke envisioned a place for the faculty to gather away from their familiar departments in order to interact and share ideas with colleagues from other academic disciplines. In this way, Gordon Library would prove instrumental in supporting the inter-disciplinary nature of the WPI Plan. Through the years Gordon Library continued to change and grow in response to the research needs of the WPI community. Typewriters and phonograph players gave way to word processors and tape decks, then eventually computers. In 2017, Gordon Library celebrated 50 years of service with a yearlong celebration. WPI community members past and present were invited to guest lectures, open houses, and a reception that included a life-sized balloon replica of WPI’s mascot, Gompei the Goat.