Acknowledgement

The events of the library from 1933 to 1967 are drawn from the unpublished material of Father Miguel Bernad, SJ, titled Significant Dates in the 50-Year History of the Ateneo de Cagayan, Xavier University 1933-1983. Without Father Bernad’s historical eye, we would not be able to trace the early history of the library. To him, we are forever grateful.

Significant Library Dates: 1934 - 1993

The first mention of the library at Xavier University appears in Father Bernad's publication, where the fees at Ateneo de Cagayan in 1934 were listed: Fees: Tuition fee: ₱4.00 a month; Library fee: ₱1.00 a year; Athletic fee: ₱10.00 a year; Laboratory fee: ₱2.00 a year.

The second mention of the library was during World War II, when, on May 1, 1942, Father Edward J. Haggerty, SJ, Rector of Ateneo de Cagayan, “deposited all that could be saved (library, laboratory equipment, school records) in the old mission center of Sumilao. (The library, consisting of some 15,000 volumes, was transported to Sumilao by Lt. Jose Villanueva, an AdeC student, and his men).”

Unfortunately, on October 21, 1944, “the house in Sumilao, where the library had been stored, collapsed due to heavy rains. The collection was destroyed.”

During the post-war reconstruction, from 1946 to 1949, the library is mentioned in connection with the appointment of Father Theodore Daigler, SJ, who returned to Ateneo de Cagayan on January 30, 1947, after eight months in the United States. When the school year 1948-1949 opened on June 30, 1948, improvements were evident, including new shipments of books for the library.

In July 1950, the school library, under Father Pablo V. Bartolome, SJ, was “put in ship-shape condition with the help of the Rizal Club. (The USIS representative, who visited the library, was full of praise for the arrangements.)”

In August 1957, the library was reorganized under the direction of Father Victor Helly, SJ. As Father Bernad narrates: “The stacks were separated from the reading room by a lattice screen. Two hundred feet of shelves were added. The card catalog was completed, the result of last year’s work by the Librarian, Mr. Santa Maria, with the help of the students. (Note: At this time, the library occupied the second floor of St. Joseph’s Hall. It had been confined to one room, but through the efforts of Father Fox, the former librarian, the entire second floor above the front façade was assigned to the library.)”

Three years later, Father Helly reported that within two years, some 7,000 volumes, mostly donations, had been acquired. He also reported the acquisition of a 167-volume set of the Library of Congress printed catalog.

On a visit to Manila in 1961, Father James McMahon, SJ, University Rector, met with an architect and some engineers to plan the construction of a separate library building. The construction was made possible through U.S. War-Damage Claims funds. Two years later, on February 11, 1963, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the college store was torn down, and construction of the new library building began.

A year later, on February 24, 1964, the new library was “inaugurated by being used as the venue for the First Mindanao-Sulu School Library Seminar and Workshop.” This seminar-workshop was attended by 187 participants, mostly teachers from public elementary schools.

On the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15, 1964, the three-story building was solemnly blessed by Archbishop James T.G. Hayes, SJ. Part of the ceremony was the installation of a crucifix (a gift from the Archbishop) made of molave wood, which had been part of the pre-war Ateneo de Cagayan building. This crucifix is still found where it was originally placed: on the third floor of the current Main Library building, inside the office that was once occupied by the Director of Libraries.

Fast forward to 1991. During a Board of Trustees meeting on March 2, 1991, Father Bienvenido F. Nebres, SJ, then University President, presented his plan for “raising funds for a library annex or study hall for students, as the University Library could no longer accommodate the current population.” The plan was unanimously approved by the Board, and it was left to Father Antonio S. Samson, SJ, Father Nebres’ successor, to bring it to fruition.

Even before Father Samson was formally installed as University President, he called a meeting on May 19, 1993, to discuss his plans for the construction of a library annex. Fortunately, on June 18, 1996, at 8:08 a.m., the cornerstone for the Library Annex building was laid and blessed. A little over a year later, on July 26, 1997, the Library Annex was blessed and inaugurated in grand fashion.

XU Library in the Computer Age

The library began its formal automation efforts upon the encouragement of the late Father Francis Clarke, SJ, who served as librarian at the St. Vianney Theological Seminary. Father Clarke had been using commercial library software in his library for some months and generously shared a demo diskette. After running the demo and several discussions with Father Clarke, along with numerous meetings with XU librarians, it was decided that the library would first computerize its circulation services, as they were highly work-intensive.

On March 13, 1995, the library started using the DOS version of Circulation Plus, a commercial software from the Follett Software Company in the United States. The computerization of circulation services proved so effective that, by June 25, 1995, the library began using barcodes for its books and computerized the processing of library materials. Additionally, the manual card catalog was gradually converted into an online public catalog (OPAC). These advancements were made possible through the acquisition of the Catalog Plus module, also from Follett and still in the DOS version. On January 29, 1998, with the release of the Windows version of the modules, the library quickly upgraded to the Windows platform.

To enhance accessibility to its print collections of books and journals, the library acquired another Follett module, WebCollection Plus, on April 5, 2002. This allowed XU students, faculty, staff, and others to search the library collections from any location, 24 hours a day, without physically visiting the library. In addition, books could now be placed on hold or reserved online. Taking a significant step forward, the library began creating its own website, ahead of many other units and offices within the university. On April 20, 2004, Mrs. Annabelle P. Acedera and Mr. Roman V. Ellovido started designing the site, and with the assistance of the Computer Center, particularly Engr. Gerry Doroja, the library launched its website on December 14, 2004.

To provide reliable and up-to-date full-text articles, the library subscribed to the Wilson OmniFile Select database on June 16, 2003. Additionally, as part of a network of American Corners in the Philippines, the library was granted access to the EBSCO MasterFile database by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy. These two databases were formally launched on November 23, 2003, in an event attended by then-President Antonio S. Samson, SJ, along with college deans, department chairs, student leaders, and heads of various offices and units.