Clemens Library

The Clemens Library and the Alcuin Library at St. John’s University together offer students the second largest private library collection in Minnesota. Before 1986, though, the library at the College of St. Benedict was a small contributor to this boast. The building of Clemens Library came from the need to expand for the ever growing collection of books and the lack of study space for students. The College library had been housed in the Main Building since 1913 and was only 27% of the average college library space. Due to the age of the Main Building, expansion was not an option. The students of St. Benedict’s relied heavily on the resources at St. John’s Alcuin Library, but the St. John’s library was only built to accommodate one campus population.

The estimated cost for the building of a new library was $5.2 million, and a Library Building Fund Committee was established to run a capital campaign. The chair of the committee was James Reagan. Through the efforts of the Building Fund Committee, $5,486,000 was raised, $239,500 more than anticipated.

The first donation of $1 million was given by Mr. Bill Clemens, President of Bankers Systems, Inc and his wife Virginia. The Clemenses said their donation was an “investment in the future” and a thank you to the Benedictines for the tremendous contribution they had made to the area. Because their contribution was the first $1 million, their name was honored as the title of the library.

Other major contributors for the building of the library included:

• St. Benedict’s Monastery: $1 million
• Bush Foundation Matching Grant: $265,000
• McKnight Foundation Matching Grant: $250,000
• Kresge Foundation: $250,000

Construction of the new Clemens Library began in 1985. Warner, Burns, Toan, and Lunde of New York were chosen to design the library. The key components of the design were simplicity, function and plenty of space. The architects, Eleanor Larabee and Danforth Toan, anticipated a shift from print to electronic media, as well as the expansion of the book collections. With this in mind, a computer study area was included in the library design, as well as provisions for a second tier of stacks. The library was completed in time for the beginning of the 1986-1987 school year.

One of the special features of the Clemens library is the bell tower. The inspiration and design for the tower came from the Benedictine Convent in Eichstatt, the Bavarian Mother House from whence the Benedictine Sisters in St. Joseph had come. The windows of the bell tower are made out of stained glass that was saved from the remodeled Sacred Heart Chapel.

After the general construction of the library, the book collection had to be transferred from the Main Building to the new location. The shift began on August 5, 1986. The move was handled by Apollo Moving Specialists, a division of North American Van Lines, one of five companies that specialized in the relocation of library collections. With 77 employees and 30 students from both St. John’s and St. Ben’s, the move took 4 days. All items had to be kept in order during this process. Altogether, the relocation included the moving of:

• 137,000 books
• 15,000 microfilm
• 975 audio cassettes
• 200 video cassettes
• 78 filmstrips
• 452 records and
• miscellaneous sets of slides, scripts and transparencies.

The dedication of the new Clemens Library was on September 13, 1986.

Initially, the bell tower had no bells. Funds for the bells were donated later by Gladys and Clifford Wold of Fargo, North Dakota, as a memorial for their parents, Dr. And Mrs. A.O. Wold and Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Antony. Gladys (Antony) Wold attended CSB in 1928-29. Containing 3,800 pounds of bronze, the bells were cast in Holland. Their dedication took place on September 11, 1987, when Bishop Jerome Hanus, OSB, blessed and dedicated the peal of bells and they were rung for the first time.

The four bells (largest to smallest) are named Lectio (slow, attentive reading), Meditatio (thoughtful, loving repetition), Oratio (inner, responsive prayer) and Contemplatio (rest in God). These are the four traditional stages in the cycle of monastic learning. The bells are also meant to signal the welcoming and acceptance of all faiths within the school.

Cliff Wold wrote the following text, which was inscribed on the bells:

Let the Bell Ring out,
Calling all Christians to God’s temple,
For we are all God’s Children united in His Service

The Clemens Library is the main focal point, the center of the campus, combining beauty, simplicity and knowledge.

Special thanks to Sara Trent '08 for drafting this text.