The above quote is from an anonymous member of the Brown community. Read the full memory below:

One of my most vivid memories of the Rock was the sight of the old card catalog being dismantled. The massive wooden cabinets that occupied the majority of the main reading room on the first floor was the crowning glory of the library in 1965 when the Rock opened. It represented centuries of work on the part of staff to collect and describe the library’s holdings. By the 1990s, however, its physical presence had out-lived its intellectual contribution (with the content now available via Josiah and other online finding tools). So the venerable structure was first reduced, then moved to Level A, and ultimately dismantled completely. In its wake, the space was given over to new user spaces, the most recent incarnation of which is the lovely Sorensen Reading Room. Moreover, while the library’s tools and spaces have changed and adapted over time, it’s encouraging that the new tools and new spaces remain relevant to today’s students and faculty.