On the morning of Nov. 16, 1971, hundreds of Exeter students reported to the Davis Library for duty. Their charge: Take tens of thousands of books from the shelves of the stately-but-overburdened building and carry them a hundred paces or so to their new home next door. The effort, in essence, was a relay from Exeter's past into its future.
The new library — eventually to be named the Class of 1945 Library — was a towering new structure in the heart of campus that could be considered a brick-and-concrete monument to a critical period for the Academy. Only a year earlier had Exeter transitioned to a coeducational institution. Girls were among the volunteers in the book brigade that morning, and the school was amidst an era of metamorphosis as it neared its bicentennial. This new library stood as a symbol of the new Exeter.
Fifty years later, our library remains a place for transformation, "a beacon" to new generations of students who seek to discover themselves and their world. The committee of faculty tasked with envisioning a new library more than a half-century ago believed that "the quality of a library, by inspiring a superior faculty and attracting superior students, determines the effectiveness of a school." As our beloved Class of 1945 Library turns 50, we are pleased and proud to report they got it absolutely right.
