Wallace's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door"

On June 11, 1963 Governor George Wallace made his “stand in the schoolhouse door” speech in opposition to the integration of Alabama schools.

The event took place in the doorway of Foster Auditorium on the campus of The University of Alabama in an attempt to prevent James Alexander Hood and Vivian Malone from enrolling in classes.. The “stand in the schoolhouse door” played an integral part in politics and the civil rights movement. Gov. Wallace gained national attention from the event. Later that evening, President Kennedy made a televised speech aligning himself with the civil rights movement.

Lillie Mae Beason, a student at The University of Alabama, watched Gov. Wallace deliver the speech from across the street through her dormitory window. When the event was over, Beason watched Gov. Wallace place a rolled paper in a nearby pipe. Later, she went to retrieve the document. What she found in the pipe was Gov. Wallace’s speech.

The speech is now in the Special Collection department of the Samford University Library.

Jennifer Taylor
Archivist, Samford University Library

Intersession Hours

Please remember that the library has limited hours through June 1st. 

Consult the Library Hours page for details.

Samford University Library Hours

May 2013

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Apr 28 1:00pm- Midnight Apr 29 7:30am- Midnight Apr 30 7:30am- Midnight 1 7:30am- Midnight 2 7:30am- Midnight 3 7:30am- 5:00pm 4 10:00am- 5:00pm 5 1:00pm- Midnight 6 7:30am- 2:00am 7 7:30am- 2:00am 8 7:30am- 2:00am 9 7:30am- 2:00am 10 7:30am- 5:00pm 11 10:00am- 5:00pm 12 1:00pm- 2:00am 13 7:30am- 2:00am 14 7:30am- 2:00am 15 7:30am- 2:00am 16 7:30am- 6:00pm 17 8:00am- 4:30pm 18 CLOSED 19 CLOSED 20 8:00am- 4:30pm 21 8:00am- 4:30pm 22 8:00am- 4:30pm 23 8:00am- 4:30pm 24 8:00am- 4:30pm 25 CLOSED 26 CLOSED 27 CLOSED 28 8:00am- 4:30pm 29 8:00am- 4:30pm 30 8:00am- 4:30pm 31 8:00am- 4:30pm Jun 1 CLOSED

Friday: Hellenic Scholars' Library

The Hellenic Scholars' Library

Samford Classics professor Doug Clapp noted that although pride in Greek culture was exaggerated for comedic effect in the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "it is no stretch to say that we can trace our ideas, our ways of thinking, back to their ancient Greek origins through the writings of, among others, Homer, Plato and Paul." "By preserving a multitude of Greek voices," Clapp said, "the Hellenic Scholars Library can help a twenty-first century world maintain access to ancient wisdom that can help us thoughtfully consider our modern quandaries."

Since 2005 over 3,000 volumes have been donated to the collection. The Hellenic Scholars' Library is located on the lower level, adjacent to Special Collection. Materials are accessible through the Samford Libraries Catalog. 

Please join us Friday, 10:00am, for the reception.

This year National Library Week is all about how Communities matter @ your library. Gifts to the University Library provide valuable opportunities for enhancements to existing library resources and services. Developing and maintaining a scholarly library and center for learning now and in the future is a long-range enterprise that requires a wide base of support to ensure preservation of and access to key information resources for scholarship. The Samford University Library has been the beneficiary of many generous gifts through the years that have enabled it to provide additional key resources that significantly enhance our offerings that nurture persons learning and knowledge in direct support of the mission of the institution.

This week we highlight five gifts: ALFA Presentation Room; The Saint John's Bible, Heritage edition; The Pilgrim's Choice and other hymnals; C.S. Lewis and other fictional works; and the Hellenic Scholars' Library.

 

Wednesday: ALFA Presentation Room

ALFA Presentation Room

Did you know there's a place in the library specifically so students can practice class presentations?

In February, Samford dedicated its new ALFA Practice Presentation in library room 214. With funding from the ALFA Foundation, the facility was renovated and outfitted with the latest technology to help students practice and refine presentations for classes, seminars, conferences and thesis defense. In addition to dedicated recording software, the room features an automatic screen, projector, video camera and confidence monitor.

Although the room is reserved for student use, this open house will introduce the facility to the entire university community and public. For more information, visit our exhibits page.

Please join us Thursday between 10-11 am, for the open house.

Popcorn will also be served on the Library Porch from 10-11.

This year National Library Week is all about how Communities matter @ your library. Gifts to the University Library provide valuable opportunities for enhancements to existing library resources and services. Developing and maintaining a scholarly library and center for learning now and in the future is a long-range enterprise that requires a wide base of support to ensure preservation of and access to key information resources for scholarship. The Samford University Library has been the beneficiary of many generous gifts through the years that have enabled it to provide additional key resources that significantly enhance our offerings that nurture persons learning and knowledge in direct support of the mission of the institution.

This week we highlight five gifts: ALFA Presentation Room; The Saint John's Bible, Heritage edition; The Pilgrim's Choice and other hymnals; C.S. Lewis and other fictional works; and the Hellenic Scholars' Library.

Wednesday: C.S. Lewis Collection

CS. Lewis Collection

Through the gift and direction of a generous local donor, University Library has added 72 titles by and about C. S. Lewis since January 2012. The enhanced collections provide a complete catalog of novels, poems, theological and philosophical monographs, literary criticism, children's books, essays, and memoirs by this highly influential Christian scholar. The goals for the collection now include adding audio books and DVDs, a process that has already begun, as well as secondary works about Lewis. 

It's hard to overestimate the influence Lewis had and continues to have on generations of scholars and the public. His science fiction, children's literature, and devotional writings persist in popularity, while his scholarly works continue to be studied and analyzed. Derivative works such as movies and plays entice young audiences and lay the foundation of a generous and beautiful Christian theology. Lewis' prodigious body of work can be found throughout the library.

Help us celebrate C.S. Lewis and our other favorite authors by creating a collage inspired by YOUR favorite work! Just add it to Pinterest or Tweet using the hashtag #sulibrary (and be entered again in our daily drawings). 

This year National Library Week is all about how Communities matter @ your library. Gifts to the University Library provide valuable opportunities for enhancements to existing library resources and services. Developing and maintaining a scholarly library and center for learning now and in the future is a long-range enterprise that requires a wide base of support to ensure preservation of and access to key information resources for scholarship. The Samford University Library has been the beneficiary of many generous gifts through the years that have enabled it to provide additional key resources that significantly enhance our offerings that nurture persons learning and knowledge in direct support of the mission of the institution.

This week we highlight five gifts: ALFA Presentation Room; The Saint John's Bible, Heritage edition; The Pilgrim's Choice and other hymnals; C.S. Lewis and other fictional works; and the Hellenic Scholars' Library.

Tuesday: The Pilgrim's Choice and Hymnal Collection

Community Highlight

This unassuming little collection of 266 hymns and spiritual songs is one of only four known extant copies of the first Baptist hymnal known to have been published in Alabama. David W. Andrews compiled the work and Jacksonville, Ala., printer J.F. Grant printed it in 1843. The only other known copies reside in the Alabama State Archives, the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a private collection.

Samford music professor Paul Richardson, a noted hymnologist and past president of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, acquired the hymnal and donated it to the university in honor of Liz Wells, chair of the library's Special Collection department. "She has been so helpful to me, I saw this as a way to add to the collection and honor her at the same time," Richardson said.

[page 66] from Select Gems, 1889

"The Pilgrim's Choice" joins an already sizeable collection of hymnals at Samford resulting from an earlier gift of materials to the university's School of the Arts by the Lorenz publishing family of Chicago.

[page 45] from The Sacred Harp, 1902.

 An example of shape note music made popular in the early 1800s.

A 5 Meal Food Court gift card will be awarded to a Samford student from the National Library Week entry box. See here for ways to enter. 

This year National Library Week is all about how Communities matter @ your library. Gifts to the University Library provide valuable opportunities for enhancements to existing library resources and services. Developing and maintaining a scholarly library and center for learning now and in the future is a long-range enterprise that requires a wide base of support to ensure preservation of and access to key information resources for scholarship. The Samford University Library has been the beneficiary of many generous gifts through the years that have enabled it to provide additional key resources that significantly enhance our offerings that nurture persons learning and knowledge in direct support of the mission of the institution.

This week we highlight five gifts: ALFA Presentation Room; The Saint John's Bible, Heritage edition; The Pilgrim's Choice and other hymnals; C.S. Lewis and other fictional works; and the Hellenic Scholars' Library.