JFK Library

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The next couple of decades after World War II were arguably the most rapid period of growth this institution has ever seen. As part of this expansion certain facilities that had previous been in a shared building needed their own buildings. The John F. Kennedy Library before you is one such example.

The Bigger the College, the Bigger the Library

The first library was located in the original administration building and unfortunately it also burn down with the original administration building. A new library was set up in Showalter Hall and remained the college library until 1940. By that year the amount of books and other materials collected by the college library had become to big to simply be housed in one room in Showalter Hall and a purpose built facility was set up inside Hargreaves Hall. 25 years later Hargreaves Hall had become inadequate to hold an even bigger collection and the JFK Library before you was finished in 1967. The JFK Library itself was given an extensive renovation and expansion from 1995 to 1998 to increase capacity.

Not Just for School Teachers

Shortly after the renaming of the college new programs were added that were designed for preparing students for other careers besides teaching. This began with secretarial classes in 1939, and quickly expended into other programs. By 1961 the college had firmly shifted toward a liberal arts focus and away from being strictly a teachers college. To reflect this change the name of the college was changed again from the Eastern Washington College of Education to Eastern Washington State College.