The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of STEM subjects located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of science, engineering and technology in North America" and "among the largest science libraries in the world" with half a million items in its collection, as of 2009. the library is open to the public, and invites individual researchers, academic institutions, and companies from Kansas City and around the world to use the library's research-level collection. Its mission is to act as "guardian of the collective intellectual heritage with regard to the science, technology, and engineering disciplines."

Besides maintaining its collection, the library organizes general interest events aimed at the public, such as historical microscopes from the time of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to that of Charles Darwin. to the library with daily updates (via the Internet) that provide the library with new content for visitors.

"The Tazza"—one of the largest pieces of malachite in North America—stands as the focal point in the center of the main reading room, which features parquet wood floors, paneling and bookshelves of oak, and large windows that overlook the south lawn.

Collections

The library's collection numbers over 2 million items.

Today, some of the most frequently used items from the library are the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Tetrahedron Letters (for organic chemistry). The seven acre arboretum and gardens also contain beds of viburnum, tree peonies, and Missouri native woodland plants. Seven trees on the property have been designated Greater Kansas City Champion Trees and represent the largest specimens of their species in the metropolitan area: Sweet Birch, European Hornbeam, Hardy Rubber Tree, Double Flowered Horsechestnut, Rivers Purple Beech, Yulan Magnolia, and Anise Leaf Magnolia.

References

  • Official website
  • Libraries.org Linda Hall entry page
  • Linda Hall Library's Transcontinental Railroad educational site with free, full-text access to 19th century American railroad periodicals
  • Linda Hall Library History of Science Collection, C-SPAN video, BookTV Bus, May 12, 2008
  • Linda Hall Library: a Gem of Science Knowledge video by KSHB NBC Action News
  • "Linda Hall", Barbara Magerl, The Pendergast Years: Kansas City in the Jazz Age & Great Depression, Kansas City Public Library Digital History.