TCU is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Mary Couts Burnett Library throughout February.

Some celebratory events have already taken place, such as a celebration with cake in the library on Feb. 5 and an opportunity for students to write what they love about the library from Feb. 10 to 14.

Two more events remain: a fundraising event on Feb. 27, marking the library’s official 100-year anniversary, and a student dance on Feb. 28. The dance will be 1920s-themed and held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Gearheart Reading Room inside the library and offering music, food and non-alcoholic drinks.

“Back in the day, the library was the biggest building with open spaces on campus,” Robyn Reid, TCU social sciences librarian and one of the committee members of the event, said. “It was the main event on campus where dances and events were held.”

She said the committee wanted to bring back that back, at least for a day.

TCU library celebrates centennial with a book drive

TCU’s Mary Couts Burnett Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary by giving back to the community.

Throughout February, the library is hosting a book drive to provide foster children across Texas, Louisiana and Missouri with the joy of reading. Partnering with the Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS), the initiative aims to collect more than 3,000 books for over 1,400 children in need.

The idea for the initiative originated with Robyn Reid, TCU’s social sciences librarian, who sought ways to involve students in the library’s centennial celebration. After discussions with TCU’s Student Government Association, a service project emerged as the best way to engage the student body.

“I thought, ‘Well, it’s the library. Let’s do a book drive,’” Reid said.

Reid said the library looked for an organization that supported its goals of literacy and access to information. Maria Shupe, a development officer for PCHAS, introduced Reid to the nonprofit and its book buddy program. 

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be a good organization to partner with,’” Reid said. “They meet my criteria because they’ve been established, they’ve been around for over 100 years and they are local. They have an office in Fort Worth and work with kids in Fort Worth.”

The drive honors the legacy of Mary Couts Burnett, whose donation kept TCU afloat during the Great Depression and made the library’s construction possible. With Burnett’s donation of $3 million in 1923, about $54 million today adjusted for inflation, the library was built and opened for students on Feb. 27, 1925.

Now, 100 years later, that legacy of generosity continues with this initiative, promoting literacy for foster children who may never have owned a book.

“These children who are foster children in Texas, they have often not owned a book or had books read to them by their families,” Reid said. “And so, we hope that this book drive, by giving these kids these books, will foster a love of reading. Literacy is so important for success in life, and so we hope that these books will be a blessing to these children.”

The book drive is designed to be accessible to all who want to contribute. Donations can be made online through the TCU library’s Amazon donation registry. Additionally, details about the drive, including specific book requests from PCHAS, can be found on the library’s 100th anniversary website under its events page.

The drive benefits foster children from preschool through high school. To ensure the needs of the children are met, donors are encouraged to select books solely from the registry.

“We are sticking to the list, so please donate books that are listed through the registry,” Reid said. “We did get specific requests from the Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services for books in Spanish and books for older kids, too.”

Donations are accepted through the end of February.

The history of the Mary Couts Burnett Library

As the university honors the library’s 100 years of service with these events, it is also a time to reflect on its historical significance and the milestones that have shaped its journey.

The Mary Couts Burnett Library was completed in early 1925 and officially dedicated on Feb. 27, 1925. According to the library’s website, it was one of the first structures on the east side of the campus.

Burnett passed away in December 1924, before the building opened in February 1925, but she was able to see it nearly completed.

Burnett’s story is one of resilience as she was wrongly declared insane by her husband, Samuel “Burk” Burnett. When Samuel died, he did not leave any of his fortune to his wife.

In turn, Burnett sued and was awarded half of his oil fortune estate.

With this money, she, who had no affiliation with TCU, gave the university a gift of $3,000,000 in 1923. This sum is approximately equivalent to $56,000,000 today.

TCU set aside $150,000 to build the library; the rest was placed in a trust.

When the Great Depression hit six years later, the trust allowed the university to stay afloat despite the country’s financial strain.

The Dean of the Library, Tracy Hull, believes Burnett’s story is an important guide for all students at TCU today.

“I think as TCU, you know, is educating our future ethical leaders, philanthropy is a part of that, and so I really think it is valuable to look back at what Mary Couts Burnett did for our university as it’s still the largest gift to the university ever.” Hull said, “The fact that she had no connection really says something about her character, and I think that our students can look at that as a model as they go forward and do good things out in the world.”

TCU has set up a special collections exhibit on the third floor of the library to showcase the library and Burnett’s history. The collection includes original blueprints for the library, photos of Burnett, original copies of books given from Burnett’s personal collection and more.

Since its opening, the library has undergone three expansions: in 1954, 1982 and most recently in 2015.

The expansion in 1954 was due to enrollment going up after World War II, which prompted the library to expand by 50 percent, according to the library’s website. 

The library then doubled in 1982, expanding from 80,000 square feet to 158,605 square feet, as well as adding a new entrance.   

Finally, the 2015 expansion emphasized modern improvements, including an aesthetic change to the entrance, as well as making it the entrance face towards university and many new technologies in the library.  

The technological advancement of the library saw new technologies introduced, including a 3-D printer in the fabrication lab, multimedia editing rooms and many new high-speed computers.