In the earliest days, the library was located upstairs in the Seminary Building.
It was little more than a closet with some donated books. There was no librarian — faculty members took turns providing the limited access.
The collections were limited. The place was basically a closet. Various faculty members took turns opening the doors, and hours were very limited and service was very basic.
In the 1950s, just before the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library was built, the library was located on the second floor of the Administration Building. It was extremely crowded. There had been talk of building a new one for decades, but due to the economic hardships of two World Wars and the Great Depression, there were no funds available to make it a reality until 1953.
Finally, in 1953, spurred on by the gift of a wealthy Methodist philanthropist named Annie Merner Pfeiffer, fundraising efforts were rewarded with a library building!
This was a major milestone in the life of the college. The collections were growing, and being shaped to the curriculum of the college. The place was state-of-the-art.
Service was very evident in the collecting, organizing, preserving, and sharing of materials that faculty needed for their teaching and students needed for their learning.
A Library Science Major was added in 1950, and there were multiple librarians and staff members actively teaching.
Annie Merner Pfeiffer never actually set foot on our campus, but she believed in the power of what was being done here. She also donated money to other Methodist colleges throughout Appalachia, and they also have Pfeiffer buildings.
She also stipulated that two other buildings of equal value be built at the same time. One of these was the L.L. Loar and Family Memorial Music Building, and the other was Fleming Hall.
(1953-05-27) Dedication of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library
(1953-05-27) Dedication Address by Bishop Fred Pierce Corson [West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 1953-11, p.1]
(1970) The Goal is Met: New Library Extension Set [Pharos 1970-01-20, p.1] President Stanley Martin announced that the conditions for the $500,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation and for the $25,000 grant from the Kresgee Foundation have been met. This will enable Wesleyan to construct the long planned-for extension on the Pfeiffer Library and the new Humanities-Communications complex behind Hammond (*Haymond) Science Hall. A total of $2,284,000 had to be raised. The official close of the Fullfillment Fund campaign is January 31 when a full report will be issued. The job is not finished though. An additional $133,000 is needed to equip the building and another $136,000 is needed for limited remodeling of the present structure. The central core of stacks will be removed to allow for more space.
Haymond Hall will lose its wing to allow for construction of the Humanities- Communications complex which will house classrooms, lecture halls, offices, reading and language labs, the radio station, the closed-circuit television, audio-visual and graphics. A more detailed report on this project and the entire Fullfillment Fund will be made in a later issue.
(1972) Library space was doubled by the wraparound addition completed this fall. This is but perhaps a third of one of the new rooms given over to open stacks of books, study carrels, and other learning facilities. The library can now handle up to 150,000 books. The seating capacity was doubled. There is wall-to-wall carpeting, assuring added quiet. (Article included a photo). [Sundial News 1970-10, p.6]
(1972-10-20) Dedication of the Wrap Around Addition to the Library
(1973-02-04) Dedication of the Upshur Reading Room in the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library
(2019) Wesleyan Renovating Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library [Sundial Winter/Spring 2019, p.2] Wesleyan has begun a $2 million renovation of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library. The renovation plan was a cumination of careful study, design, interviews, and statistical analysis to evolve the critical function of the library on campus. The executive team of campus stakeholders, along with BHDP Architects of Cincinnati, OH, generated a plan that is centered upon the student experience and the ways students interact with the faculty and staff that support their education. Students, faculty, and staff participated in a number of focus group sessions in order for the design team to understand the scope of what is needed for the project. New renovation features include: *A new rear entrance facing the center of campus that will improve accessibility. *An expansion of available individual and small group study spaces, focusingon a diversity of furniture solutions. *Consolidation of some academic services, such as the tutoring and writing center, which will be located in the updated library facility, and *A focus on the student experience. as they occupy the space. When the project is completed this summer, the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library will become the academic hub of Wesleyan’s campus. the renovation project is funded throught the $10 million U.S. Department of Education Title III Grand Wesleyan received in the fall of 2014.
(2019-09-12) Ribbon Cutting for the major library renovation. [WVWC News Release 2019-09-11].