Named for Wellesley's eighth president, the Margaret Clapp Library is the centerpiece of the College library system, which contains over a million volumes. The entire system is fully automated, with an online catalog that can be accessed 24 hours a day. Wellesley is a member of the Boston Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries, which gives students access to libraries all over the Boston area. We have reciprocal borrowing privileges with MIT.
A Brief History of the Building
1905: Andrew Carnegie gave $132,000 to build the library.
1909-1910: The original library was built.
1915: Carnegie gave another $95,446 to fund an addition. A wing. designed by Henry D. Whitfield, was added to the left-hand side of the building.
1956-1959: The library underwent renovations. A new addition, designed by Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott, was placed at the rear of the library.
1973-1975: A major addition was built onto the right-hand side of the structure. The library was then named in honor of the college's eighth president, Margaret Antoinette Clapp (1910-1974), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and member of the Class of 1930. She served as the college president for 25 years (1949-1966).