In the early 1900s, Jane Stanford set out to build “a grand library” capable of storing a million books. But a year after her death, the 1906 earthquake collapsed her library just before it was set to open. In 1919, a new Main Library—later renamed for entrepreneur and philanthropist Cecil H. Green—opened its hushed halls and the pictured Syllabus Room to students and faculty. At 100 years old, Green Library has more than fulfilled Jane’s goal. It contains 1,652,653 of the 9.5 million physical volumes held in Stanford’s 20 libraries.
Photo: Courtesy Stanford Libraries
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