The above quote is from Alex “Figg” Newton (Class of 1966). Read the full memory below:

On November the 9, 1965, I was studying in the main reading room of the Rock around 8 pm and was momentarily gazing outward over the city when all of a sudden the lights of the entire city including the Rock itself went out—completely. It was truly remarkable seeing Providence just go black. Many of us at the Rock figured the lights would all come back on momentarily, so we didn’t move too quickly. But it soon became clear that this wasn’t just a momentary problem and we all wandered through the dark back to our respective dorms—which of course were also dark. We quickly learned that the entire northeast was in a similar situation, so we settled back and amused ourselves as studying was clearly over for the evening. One thing for sure—I was in the perfect seat for the rare event!

The above quote is from Stephanie Powell Shaw (Class of 1985). Read the full memory below:

My most vivid memory of the Rock is as an upperclassman working in the “stacks”. My campus work study job was to re-stock the books onto the shelves. I was assigned the titles in the lower floors of the Rock where they kept really old books on religion. I’d spend most of my “work” study hours reading the old manuscripts, etc. instead of stocking the books! Awesome experience and the eye opening things I learned from those books stayed with me all of these years.

The above quote is from Ron LoLordo (Class of 1966). Read the full memory below:

Working in the Library and falling asleep in the stacks during working hours.

The above quote is from Sharon Stern Gerstman (Class of 1972). Read the full memory below:

I remember fondly the coffee house at the rock in the late 60s-early 70s. I had this routine of going to the Rock after dinner, studying for about 2 hours, then going for coffee and a sweet for half an hour. The conversation, as well as the coffee and sugar, propelled me for another hour or so of studying.

I don’t know if it’s true, but a story going around was that the students had instantly named the library the Rock, and the administration didn’t like it. So the students started calling it the John and the administration said “the Rock was just fine.”

The above quote is from Jonathan J. Silbermann (Class of 1970). Read the full memory below:

Having my Senior thesis carrell on, I think, the fourth floor of the Rock overlooking downtown Providence was special—a quiet place to take an afternoon nap!

The above quote is from Eric Lund (Class of 1970). Read the full memory below:

As a freshman in 1966 I used to bury myself in the listening rooms of the Rock and do my homework there while exposing myself to an endless supply of classical music. Vinyl records in those days – listening rooms not headphones. I saw on a recent visit to the campus that this space no longer exists. Still a fond memory.

The above quote is from Michael Fontaine (Class of 2003 phD). Read the full memory below:

I was sitting at a computer terminal in the Rock when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on 9/11. A message popped up on Yahoo’s home screen announcing the tower had been hit. Nobody around me seem to have heard, but when I walked out to the lobby a circulation librarian had already set up a TV and a few people were gathering to watch that day’s events unfold.

I spent many—too many, surely—hours in the Rock during my time at Brown, but I’ll never forget those few vivid minutes of 13 years ago.

The above quote is from Matt Thanabalan (Class of 2010). Read the full memory below:

Miming to one another in the absolute quiet room.

The above quote is from Philip J. Davis (Prof. Emer. Applied Mathematics). Read the full memory below:

I arrived on the Brown Faculty fifty years ago just as the splendid new Rock opened. I feel bereft unless I’m near a library with at least two million books. I rarely need to go to Interlibrary Loan.

The above quote is from Joseph Haletky (Class of 1968). Read the full memory below:

The Rock opened during my freshman year. I had a financial aid job with the library (helping to process books given to the library). We started out at the John Hay, but moved to the Rock when it opened later that year. I remember helping to move the Acquisitions department across the street through a tunnel on one of the basement levels. Level C (the deepest basement) was where we had our storage stacks.