HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY
In 1859, Louis Agassiz, the renowned Swiss-American naturalist, founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology. In 1861 he established the Library, later to be named in honor of Ernst Mayr, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, and Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1961 until 1970. In the past, the Library was supported by private subscriptions and the help of Agassiz’s friends. Now, the Library is an integral part of the Harvard University Library system and one of fourteen science libraries.
Agassiz’s own library and the purchase of the books of Laurent Guillaume de Koninck, a noted Belgian paleontologist, formed the core of the early collection. By the end of 1861, the Library held 6,000 volumes.
Currently, the Library collection numbers more than 274,000 volumes of monographs and journals and a collection of archival materials and natural history art. Serial and monograph publications are received from all over the world through exchanges.
The continuing interest of friends and scholars in the maintenance of a specialized and convenient museum library has made it a strong and unique resource for learning.
Important dates for
the Ernst Mayr Library
- 1876, the Museum officially became part of Harvard University
- 1949, 1,000 rare books and manuscripts were transferred to Houghton Library for preservation
- 1978, the Library of Congress classification system was adopted and the Special Collections department was officially instituted
- 1980-1981, most of the serials were reclassified into CONSER, a more alpha-numeric system
- 1988, HOLLIS (Harvard’s Online Library Information System) public terminals were installed in the Reference
Room - 1995, all of the library’s printed holdings were made accessible though HOLLIS
- 2006, the Houghton Deposit materials were returned to Special Collections.