J. D. Boyd Library: Then & Now
Source: Alcorn Archives Department
The above latter picture is from an 1947 Alcorn Yearbook. In the picture, you can see students patronizing a large one room library in what then was called the Library and Sciences Building. Now this building is called Dumas Hall.
Source: Alcorn Archives Department
In 1969, library staff and students moved into a new 52,000 square feet structure. This facility was located where the library presently sits, adjacent to the Student Union Complex. This building had a stack capacity of 230,00 volumes and seating capacity of 1,000 students.
Submitted Photo
It contained faculty research rooms and study rooms, audiovisual aid area, conference rooms, and library faculty and staff offices. This building was named the J. D. Boyd Library — after John Dewey Boyd the 14th President of Alcorn State University.
Source: Alcorn Archives Department
In the fall 1996, a ground breaking was done to add on to and renovate the existing library space. In 1999, the library staff opened the first phase of the library construction project. Phase two (the renovation of the old space) was finished in 1999.
Source: Alcorn Archives Department
With the completion of both Phases 1 and 2, more services were added. A new 30-station computer lab opened and fiber optic Internet wiring was installed throughout the library. Additional staff were hired to accommodate the growth of the library services. The library expansion allowed for a much larger Instructional Media Center and a 140-seat auditorium, named after Alcorn alumni and civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
To meet the present needs of the university community, J. D. Boyd Library expanded its online resources to include a new catalog system (OPAC), more online research databases, and extra tools to help students with developing research topics for their class assignments. The library is also home to Starbucks, the Math Lab, and the Alcorn Writing Center.
Even in this digital technology age, the J. D. Boyd Library still serves its mission of being a source for the dissemination of academic information on the campus of Alcorn State University.