Book Brigade

    The groundbreaking ceremony for the new library took place on May 21, 1937. In less than a year, the library would be completed. Before Friedsam could open, however, 40,000 volumes needed to moved from Alumni Hall to Friedsam. Using a method a method called a "Bucket Brigade," the students and seminarians stood in two lines with a librarian at each end, forming a human chain. Every book was passed hand to hand, transferring books from Alumni Hall to their proper position in Friedsam. The transfer took eight hours, with students alternating in two hour shifts. The Bucket Brigade was so efficient that library service was able to continue the next day. 
(from our Buildings pages)

Fr. Irenaeus hands Fr. Tom the first volume to be moved from
Alumni Hall to Friedsam Memorial Library.

Father Thomas Plassmann leading the book brigade from Alumni Hall.

The back of Alumni Hall as the library there is emptied.

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