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49-739: Before the establishment of a library for students, students took the initiative to establish literary societies, that served as the source of literature and discussion of scholarly topics. The first one was the St. Aloysius Literary Society , which was founded in 1850 and six years later established the first student library. It was followed by the Aloysius Philodemics, the Philopatrians and the St Edwards Library Society. The first circulating library at Notre Dame

98-592: A century of dormancy the oldest literary society in the United States. The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1813, is the oldest continuously existing collegiate literary society. In recent years, the Philodemic Society of Georgetown University has attempted to resuscitate the long tradition of intercollegiate debate between collegiate literary societies with

147-460: A limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a friendly and highly charged rivalry at best. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually

196-401: A part of virtually all academic institutions. Usually they existed in pairs at a particular campus, and would compete for members and prestige, and supplemented the classical studies of the curriculum with modern literature and current events. Many also maintained significant libraries, which often rivaled or surpassed the college library. When they disbanded, the libraries were typically given to

245-503: A result of schism in the Latin societies. The Greek chapters were smaller, numbering from 8 to 15 at any given time. These were more intimate groups as compared to the societies. Confidences could be shared, promoting a certain amount of secrecy, which became an early hallmark of a Greek chapter. And as the Greek organizations grew, the literary societies declined. Some vestiges remain, but for

294-483: A role in society life as musical instruments became more available. There are seven active literary societies at Illinois College. It is from the collegiate literary societies with Latin names that the earliest Greek organizations sprung. As an example, Beta Theta Pi fraternity was started by 8 students of the Union Literary Society at Miami University in 1839. Many early Greek chapters were started as

343-407: Is 210 feet (64 m) tall, is built on a site that encompasses 315 square feet (29.3 m). The interior of 429,780 square feet (39,928 m) has two lower floors that serve as a base for a narrower and nearly windowless 13-story tower capped with a smaller penthouse. Interior floors have few walls and are supported by bare columns to create a flexible space to arrange stacks of books. The size of

392-532: Is not always the case, however; Phi Phi Society at Kenyon and the Phi Kappa at Georgia are examples of large literary societies with Greek names. The Clariosophic and Euphradian societies at South Carolina both had Greek letter aliases, Mu Sigma Phi and Phi Alpha Epsilon, respectively, which appeared on their seals, but which were not used in normal conversation or writing. In the following table, there are two types of literary societies listed together,

441-404: Is usually by invitation. They share all the characteristics of a college literary society, except that they are not open to all students; and they share many of the features of a college fraternity. In the 1830s and 1840s, students began to organize private literary societies for smaller groups, and these more intimate associations quickly developed into wholly secret associations . Groups such as

490-825: The American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University , Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College , the Irving Sothe Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University , the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College , the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania , the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University ,

539-530: The Civil War , collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. These societies are often called Latin literary societies because they typically have compound Latinate names. Most literary societies' literary activity consisted of formal debates on topical issues of the day, but literary activity could include original essays, poetry, music, etc. As a part of their literary work, many also collected and maintained their own libraries for

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588-743: The Clariosophic , Euphradian , and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina , the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia , the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University , the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . These societies were usually in

637-846: The Demosthenian Literary Society and Phi Kappa Literary Society of The University of Georgia in Athens , the Enosinian Society of The George Washington University and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society of the University of Virginia . Some early college social fraternities still meet in a literary society format, including Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi, and Mystical 7. There are seven literary societies at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois where they have remained despite

686-564: The Kappa Alpha , Sigma Phi , Delta Phi , Mystical Seven , Alpha Delta Phi , Psi Upsilon , and Delta Kappa Epsilon and virtually all the pre-Civil War college fraternities were either first organized as literary societies or derived from factions split off of literary societies. In some cases, literary societies such as Trinity College's Cleo of Alpha Chi became chartered as chapters of national fraternities. These new organizations held meetings and were organized on identical lines to

735-550: The Phi Kappa Literary Society , founded in 1820 and dormant from the 1970s until its official reestablishment in 1991. Similarly, the Philolexian Society of Columbia University , established in 1802, operated more or less continuously until expiring in the early 1950s and, except for a brief revival in the early 1960s, was not revived until 1985. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at

784-477: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were founded in 1795, closed for approximately four years when the university was shuttered during Reconstruction and reopened. These societies merged in 1959 and still meet today as a "joint senate." The Euphradian Society at the University of South Carolina , established in 1806, was deactivated sometime during the late 1970s; it was reactivated by alumni in 2011. The Clariosophic Society , also established in 1806 at

833-399: The University of South Carolina , was reactivated in 2013. The Euphrosynean Literary Society, established in 1924 at the University of South Carolina, was reactivated in 2015. The Linonian Society at Yale University is the oldest society to still be in existence, founded in 1753, the society went sometime in the 1890s and was revamped at the beginning of the 21st century making it with over

882-600: The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union ." In April 1978, several literary societies held a Congress hosted by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was at this gathering that the Association of American Collegiate Literary Societies (AACLS) was established. For the next two decades, AACLS would hold a Congress in

931-762: The Annual East Coast Conference of Collegiate Literary Debate Societies, held in conjunction with a masked ball known as the Kai Yai Yai ball. The competition is held at the beginning of October and has in recent years included the Philomathean Society , the American Whig-Cliosophic Society of Princeton University , the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina ,

980-504: The University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to

1029-652: The Washington Society dates back to the glory days of the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. It was during this time that great plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the Earth, feeding on lush growths of ferns and palm-like cycads and bennettitaleans. Meanwhile, smaller but vicious carnivores stalked the great herbivores. The oceans were full of fish, squid, and coiled ammonites, plus great ichthyosaurs and

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1078-585: The beginning of the school year and at other important dates, such as July Fourth. The most famous of those addresses is Ralph Waldo Emerson 's " The American Scholar ." Yet, there were hundreds of others, most of which were less radical than Emerson's address. Since these organizations are virtually the oldest kind of student organization in America, where they have survived, they are seen as ancient institutions. One author from Georgia acknowledged that fact (by parody) in discussing his own society: "The origin of

1127-458: The campus at large. When the societies dissolved, their libraries were transferred to the college libraries, and in many colleges the acquisition of the literary societies' libraries was a significant change in their collection, usually broadening the college's libraries' scope into popular literature, but often also adding important and rare works. Although literary societies had Latin names, and fraternities had Greek names reduced to initials, this

1176-521: The college libraries. The society libraries were also high in quality, as shown by their printed catalogs... The rivalry between the two societies at each college extended to their libraries; each tried to have a larger library than the other." Several societies, especially in the South, would build separate buildings for the societies and their libraries. On the austere college campus of two centuries ago, "the only fairly comfortable and attractive places were

1225-459: The college literary societies, (frequently half the college's student body), and smaller private societies, and were admitted by invitation. Some of these societies are still active. The University of Georgia hosts two literary societies (both of which were temporarily disbanded during the Civil War and the subsequent Union occupation): the Demosthenian Literary Society , founded in 1803, and

1274-632: The college. Even today, the oldest books in the early American colleges often bear the bookplate of a literary society. These are Latin-named and -themed organizations whose purposes vary from society to society. Activities include but are not limited to: The weekly presentation of papers written by society members, and a debate on its merits; Readings of members work and others', followed by discussion; literary Productions, which are practices in oratory skill; intramural sports teams; service events; and social gatherings. Meetings were often ended with snacks, such as peanuts or sardines. Singing and music also played

1323-455: The exception of the golden dome and the statue atop of it, which would be integrated into the new modern library building. Eventually, the unfeasibility of these designs and the opposition of alumni to the destruction of the golden dome and main building forced the administration to look for a different location. Eventually, in June 1960, it was decided to place it on the eastern edge of campus, with

1372-425: The golden jubilee of Fr. Edward Sorin , a new library was opened on the third floor. By 1900, it contained 52,000 books. In 1907 the university hired Florence Espy, a professional librarian, to catalog the collection. After the death of Edwards, Paul Foik, came to Notre Dame in 1912, and took over his positions; he pushed for the construction of a library building. A new building (the present-day Bond Hall ) to house

1421-401: The large literary societies. Soon, the existence of these smaller private Greek letter organizations undermined the large Latin literary societies. Competition from athletics and other entertainments also took a toll, so many dissolved or existed in name only by the 1880s. A literary society almost always provided its members with an extensive library , either available to members only or to

1470-670: The library was built in 1917 and was dedicated during the 75th anniversary. By 1920, its collection reached 103,000 volumes. The library uses the Library of Congress classification system. Thematic collections were established in other buildings in subsequent decades. A separate engineering library opened in 1933, followed by a biology library in 1938, the Medieval Institute in 1946, and the Nieuwland science library for chemistry, physics, and mathematics in 1953. As president of

1519-444: The literary exercises would consist of a debate , but could also include speeches , poetry readings, and other literary work. There also is a fundamentally distinct type of literary society, that, although formed at a college and following the same forms and kinds of literary exercises, was limited to a small subset of the college. These are private literary societies, such as Phi Beta Kappa or Yale's Elizabethan Club . Membership

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1568-419: The long-necked plesiosaurs. Vertebrates first took to the air, like the mighty pterosaurs and the first true birds. The supercontinent Pangaea began to break up and disperse itself across the Earth's surface, sending a big chunk of land to the very spot where Thomas Jefferson's decomposed old ass lies buried today. And it is on this same chunk of land, a few miles away, that Mr. Jefferson's University sits, home to

1617-752: The modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsletters, and hold meetings where findings can be presented and discussed. Some are more academic and scholarly, while others are more social groups of amateurs who appreciate a chance to discuss their favourite writer with other hobbyists. Historically, "literary society" has also referred to salons such as those of Madame de Stael , Madame Geoffrin and Madame de Tencin in Ancien Regime France, though these could more accurately be considered literary circles or coteries . Another meaning

1666-406: The nationwide trend of developing into fraternities and sororities; these include: Phi Alpha Literary Society , Chi Beta Literary Society , Sigma Pi Literary Society , Gamma Nu Literary Society , Sigma Phi Epsilon Literary Society , Pi Pi Rho Literary Society , and Gamma Delta Literary Society . Literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In

1715-484: The new library would be on par with the nation's top universities by number of books and resources and would play a role in raising the profile Notre Dame among the great American universities. Initially, it was considered to place the new library in the place of the Main Building, either by demolishing it or by converting the structure into a library. Several plans feature the destruction of the Main Building with

1764-418: The odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..." Having two societies on campus encouraged competition , and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances,

1813-464: The official curriculum were often the most popular. Studies have been done, for example, finding an increasing discussion of slavery at literary society meetings through the 1850s. In addition to debates, in the years before the Civil War, college literary societies sponsored addresses by politicians and other dignitaries. Most frequently those addresses were delivered in conjunction with graduation. Still, there were also literary society addresses at

1862-435: The rooms of the literary societies. Their members,... raised money for rugs, draperies, and comfortable, even luxurious, furniture." Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include The Irving , The Philaletheian, The Adelphi, and The Curtis at Cornell University , Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University ,

1911-516: The spring to conduct business, and a Rhetor in the autumn where debates, literary exercises, and exchanges of literary magazines took place. As of April, 2024, efforts are currently underway to reestablish the AACLS. Since every college literary society saw itself as complementing the classical curriculum with the knowledge of current events, many of the societies also had libraries. "At a number of Northern colleges...the society libraries were larger than

1960-485: The understanding that this was the direction that the university was expanding in. This necessitated the destruction of a gymnasium and of Vetville, which housed married graduate students. Ground was broken in 1961, with the Ellerbe Company of Saint Paul, Minnesota , as the project's architect. Construction took three years. Memorial Library officially opened on September 18, 1963. The finished structure, which

2009-461: The university began major renovations to the library that will modernize its interior design. College literary societies College literary societies in American higher education are a particular kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were often the precursors of college fraternities and sororities . In the period from the late 18th century to

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2058-468: The university's retiring president, who served as Notre Dame's president for thirty-five years (1952–1987). In his retirement, Hesburgh maintained an office on the library's thirteenth floor, overlooking the Main Quad. As of 2009, the library housed 3.39 million volumes. The Association of Research Libraries ranked it the 61st largest collection among research universities in the United States. In 2015,

2107-556: The university, Father Theodore Hesburgh was focused on raising the academic profile of the institution, which so far had been heavily reliant mostly on its athletic fame. The Hesburgh administration launched a series of grand fundraising campaigns, the first of which was the 1958 "Program for the Future", aimed to raise $ 66.6 million over ten years. Among its top priorities were two graduate residence halls, money for student aid, and faculty and administration development. The highest priority

2156-518: The use of the society's members. "College societies were the training grounds for men in public affairs in the nineteenth century." The societies could fulfill this function because they were independent organizations, and entirely student-run activities. "The societies were virtually little republics, with their own laws and a democratically elected student administration." Topics could include Classical history , religion , ethics , politics , and current events . Controversial topics not covered in

2205-538: The weapons of choice. Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college but in many cases, membership was all but required. At the opening of the University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at

2254-465: The windows was minimized to reduce glare and avoid uneven light from the outside. The two lower floors feature a more extensive use of glass, as well as brick and tweed granite, while the upper floors are finished in Makato stone. The library's collection reached one million volumes in 1970 and surpassed 1.5 million volumes in 1986. In 1987 the library was renamed Hesburgh Library in honor of Fr. Hesburgh,

2303-492: Was created in 1873, by President Rev. Augustus Lemonnier, and incorporate the previously existing student libraries. It was housed on the third floor of the Main Building and its first librarian was Jimmie Edwards, CSC. In 1879 the Main Building was destroyed by fire and 500 books were lost. After the Main Building was rebuilt, a new library was established with a budget of $ 500 and comprised 16,000 volumes. In 1888, during

2352-525: Was of college literary societies , student groups specific to the United States. The oldest formal societies for writing and promoting poetry are the chambers of rhetoric in the Low Countries , which date back to the Middle Ages. There was a specialized form of the literary society which existed at American colleges and universities in the 19th century. The college literary societies were

2401-566: Was the new library to supplant the old and small library, which Hesburgh believed to be out of date and no longer adequate for the academic goals of the university. The campaign was greatly helped by a 6 million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation. In 1959, Father Theodore Hesburgh announced plans for construction of a new library, which he believed to be the necessary next step towards greater academic achievement. The announcement and subsequent fundraising campaigns placed emphasis that

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