Central Washington University Library Department, Records, 1935-2019

The Central Washington University library was initially established and housed in Barge Hall in 1897. On December 19, 1925, the library was relocated to the newly built Shaw-Smyser Hall. By 1954 the library had outgrown Shaw-Smyser Hall and state funding for a new building was sought. Funding was approved in 1959 and construction was begun in the spring of 1960. The library was moved to Bouillon Hall when construction was completed on September 1, 1961. Before the end of the decade Bouillon Hall was at capacity and plans for a new library and instruction building were launched. In 1973, construction was completed on the new library. Thirty years later, in 2003, the building was named in honor of Dr. James L. Brooks, former president of Central Washington University.