discriminating taste favored the glue in the book
from 1974 to 2003 still had award-winning features
bindings, especially the bound Congressional
that the law school community and outside
Hearings, and in particular the Sugar Acts. After
patrons prized, such as the Reading Room filled
several extermination attempts, it was time for a
with natural light and the concrete sunscreens
notice in the communication vehicle of the day,
named for the building’s architect, Giurgola,
the Otis elevator bulletin board. The posting
that shielded the offices from the harsh southern
instructed occupants to close windows tight and
sunlight without blocking the view.
shut all doors when they left for the day. The next morning there was an unexpected note posted in response: You’ll never get me! Signed, Ratty.
The library catalog was going through its own transition during these years, from cards to the addition of microfiche. By the time of the move in
During this period, optimism flourished for
1974, 20 microfiche readers were installed in New
the School of Law’s new home. Unfortunately
Condon Hall on Northeast Campus Parkway, each
the “golden period of new resources and
with its own fiche catalog attached to its side,
development” was over, as law school Dean
complete with supplements about new materials.
Richard S.L. Roddis (’70-’78) wrote in his
Taking advantage of the technology allowed
recollections. New economic realities meant
patrons to find items in the library’s collection on
they “kept paring features out of the building.”
any of the eight floors of the building instead of
These same tough times were reflected in the
going to a single card catalog.
now-iconic billboard of April 1971 that was posted after Boeing cut more than 60,000 jobs and unemployment grew to more than double the national average to 13 percent. It said “Will the last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights.” New Condon went from a planned two-building complex, “with dormitories and so on, to a basic $5 million bunker,” said Moor. Despite this
To Northington, Moor and Turnquist, the days of old Condon seem like another world in a way. But the closeness of staff and the dedication to outstanding service instilled by Marian Gould Gallagher and Viola Bird continues to this day.
Theresa Chemnick is the Assistant to the Associate Dean for Library and Computing Services.
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contraction, the home of the UW School of Law
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