Main Library is Not Sinking
How is it possible to visualize 3.7 million books?
Perhaps one way would be to imagine the crushing weight of all those
books causing the structure that houses them to slowly sink into the ground.
This is one interpretation of Indiana University's "sinking library" legend offered by Moira Smith, bibliographer for anthropology, sociology, folklore, and gender studies. According to urban legend, she says, the IU Main Library is sinking by an inch a year because the architect failed to take into account the weight of the books. Which is, of course, not true.
This legend circulates swiftly, on campus and beyond, and that makes it particularly tough to debunk. Lou Malcomb, head of the Government Publications Department, believes the rumor may be spreading more rapidly because of the increasing popularity of e-mail and the Internet. Known for her love of IU history and IUB Libraries lore, she has received at least one query a month for the past year and a half. The IU Alumni Association heard from an alumnus who read the information on an Internet site. And Lois Hesier, head of the Geology Library, received an e-mail from someone who read the falsehood in a list of "interesting facts" circulated on a Caribbean cruise!
Wherever the legend surfaces, the original source of the information is
unlisted and unverifiable. Urban legends are always told
secondhand-that's what makes them urban legends.
The legend is actually much older than IU's Main Library, says Smith.The pesky Bloomington version stems from a general category of urban legends known as the 'architect's blunder,' or a legend told about a specific location such as a bridge or notable building. An oversight by the architect leads to some catastrophic problem. The structure may be sinking, backward, or leaning. In some versions, the architect is alleged to have committed suicide after discovering the mistake too late.
University libraries are a frequent focus for this type of legend. Most commonly the libraries are said to be sinking. Jan H. Brunvand, IU alumnus, has written five books exclusively on urban legends and is considered by many to be the leading authority on this topic. The Baby Train, and Other Lusty Urban Legends includes a section devoted to 'sinking library' stories from all across the United States and Canada.
But no mention in his book of IU's Main Library. "I've got such a fat file on this topic," he says, "that in my next book I will just quote two or three [libraries] and then say that it seems to be told about most college and university libraries in the United States."
But does all this prove that it could not be possible?
The final word on the subject comes from Robert E. Meadows, Indiana University architect who, in a statement written for the IU Alumni Magazine, explained why the legend couldn't be farther from the truth.
"Five feet below the Bloomington campus is a 330-million-year old, 94-foot-thick layer of limestone," wrote Meadows. "When the library was constructed, the upper layer of this rock was found to be harder than expected. Rather than blast, we raised the lowest level of the building a number of feet."
In other words, contrary to popular folklore, the library is actually a number of feet higher than the architect's original design. This should set the record straight-and help debunk a persistent urban legend.
From The Source: a newsletter for the
friends and supporters of the Indiana
University Bloomington Libraries.
Fall 1998.
IUB Libraries | IUCAT & Databases |
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Copyright 1997-1999, The Trustees of Indiana University