Story by Bridget Sjoberg | Staff Writer, Video by Kennedy Dendy | Broadcast Reporter
Moody Library, a popular studying and meeting spot for Baylor students and staff, celebrated its 50th birthday on Friday with a party open to the Baylor and Waco communities.
Moody serves Baylor by not only acting as a large and accessible study space, but also as a spot for students to spend quality time with one another over Starbucks coffee. Additionally, Moody acts as one of the largest centers for resources on campus. Including Jones Library, the two spaces offer half a million electronic resources, along with access to a variety of historical collections.
“As the main library for a campus of 17,000 students — plus hundreds of faculty and staff — Moody’s importance to the Baylor community has only grown since its doors opened in 1968,” the Baylor Libraries website reads.
The celebration kicked off at 2 p.m. with free food and drinks and throwback tunes from 1968 playing over the speakers. Walking architecture tours were offered outside of the building, as well as art contests and raffles. Brusier and Marigold also made an appearance and were available for photo opportunities.
One of the most notable aspects of the Moody birthday celebration involved an exhibit titled “Sixty Eight: Built for the Future.” The exhibit was located throughout the ground floor of Moody and contained photographs and memorabilia from Moody’s and Baylor’s history.
All-University Sing programs and vintage Dr Pepper bottles from the ‘60s were displayed, along with plaques with details and fun facts about pop culture and Baylor in 1968.
Andrea Turner, a special collections manager at Moody Library, appreciates Moody for the role it plays in serving the student body and Waco community.
“I think the library is really special,” Turner said. “Everybody plays a part here no matter what your major is — it welcomes everyone and there’s something everyone can benefit from.”
Kara Long, a metadata and catalog librarian, agrees, noting how everyone at Baylor, regardless of year or area of study, finds a time to use and invest in Moody’s resources and study spots.
“Whether you’re a freshman trying to find a book or a graduate student writing your dissertation, there’s something for all students to enjoy here,” Long said.
Long also appreciates the library’s availability of resources for faculty and staff, and encourages students to take advantage of all that Moody has to offer.
“There’s lots of resources to help students with how to do research or put projects together,” Long said. “There’s also collections for Baylor University and Texas — there’s access to a lot of different sources.”
Turner said that Moody plans to continue the 50th celebration through social media events in the future, which she hopes that students will keep an eye out for.
