Vartan Gregorian to Speak at Brown’s John Hay Library

Saturday, March 12, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

He's back!

Beloved former Brown University President Vartan Gregorian returns to the institution he helmed for nine years to discuss “Information and Knowledge in an Age of Technology” on Thursday, March 17, at a public event celebrating the 100th year of the John Hay Library.

Gregorian, now president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, will deliver the lecture at the Library's centennial celebration event.

A historic library

Dedicated in November 1910, the John Hay Library is named for John Hay, a member of Brown’s Class of 1858 who served as Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War and later became secretary of state. The library, which replaced the University’s main library in Robinson Hall, originally accommodated 300,000 volumes and space for 180 readers. It remained the central library until the Rockefeller Library opened in 1964. Brown’s centennial celebration of the library throughout this academic year also featured a major exhibition at the David Winton Bell Gallery, showcasing rare paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, and artifacts from the Hay’s special collections.

“The John Hay Library is an enduring and increasingly vital part of Brown University history,” said Harriette Hemmasi, the Joukowsky Family University Librarian at Brown. “Housing the University’s collections of rare books and manuscripts, the University Archives, and many special collections on a wide variety of topics, the John Hay Library is a real and ever-present reminder of Brown’s proud past and its bright future.

Gregorian's special role

“It is fitting that Dr. Vartan Gregorian, current president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, past president of Brown University, and former president of the New York Public Library, should help us celebrate this milestone,” Hemmasi said. “In 1906 Andrew Carnegie provided the original gift for the erection of the John Hay Library and with this gift, Carnegie ensured that the library would remain open to the public, serving as a benefit to society in perpetuity.”

“Information and Knowledge in an Age of Technology,” Thurs March 17, 4pm, in Sayles Hall. A reception in the John Hay Library Reading Room follows. Both events are free and open to the public.