Bulldog Buildings: Who is Kathryn A. Martin?
Welcome to the first edition of Bulldog Buildings! My name is Keith Turner, and I am The Bark’s Online Director. In this series, I will take you through some of the basic history of different buildings across campus and beyond!
For the first edition, I will be uncovering the history behind the Kathryn A. Martin Library (KAML)!
KAML was completed in September of 2009 after beginning construction in 1998. The library provides students with an abundance of information, including 13 miles of bookshelves, online tools, subscriptions to services/places such as the New York Times, access to interlibrary loans, and UMD's archives that contain many different collections, including The Bark’s digital Archives.
Who is Kathryn A. Martin? Martin was UMD’s 8th Chancellor as well as the University of Minnesota system’s first female Chancellor. In her time serving between 1995 and 2010, she worked to open 12 new buildings and major renovations across other buildings. In 2013, the library was dedicated to Martin.
More facts about the Kathryn A. Martin Library:
The library has several buildings or additions related to it, including the rotunda, library entrance, and annex.
The library rotunda is a study space that can be converted into an event center on the 4th floor of the library!
The KAML circular entrance acts as an echo chamber, so if you stand in the center (on the logo) and speak, you can hear your voice echo. Also, the chandelier that hangs from the ceiling is a 350-pound glass-blown installation designed by world-renowned artist/glassblower Dale Chihuly.
The Annex, located near LSBE, contains more of KAML's book collection, study carrels, and classrooms. The Annex was originally the Health Science library!
The original library was located in Old Main (a future edition on just Old Main is coming soon), and when the library was moved to UMD’s current campus, it was located in what is now the Kirby Student Plaza/ the Food Court!
What's my favorite part of KAML?
The archives contain many cool artifacts, including one of the first prints of the King James Bible, photos of Duluth addresses through time, and my favorite — digital copies of student news articles dating back to the Duluth Normal School (Edition on the Normal school/history coming soon).
Thank you all for indulging in some history of our campus, and I hope you enjoy the new additions coming soon!
Is there a building, period of time, or name you want me to provide some history for? Reach out at turn0726@d.umn.edu.
Sources:
https://about.d.umn.edu/campus-history
https://about.d.umn.edu/campus-history/then-and-now
https://about.d.umn.edu/umd-facts