Happy Birthday, Renne Library: Celebrating 75 Years of the Library Building
A star was born on January 9, 1950, when Montana State University opened its first dedicated library building. During its 75-year history Renne Library has evolved from a modest 8,894 square foot building into a four-story,112,000 square foot modern, innovative 21st century academic library.
In 2025, we invite you to join us as we commemorate this milestone. Please explore this page to learn about the Renne Library history, discover events taking place throughout the year, share your library story, and find out how you can help MSU Library thrive in the next 75 years and beyond.
We look forward to celebrating with you throughout 2025.
Doralyn Rossmann, Professor and Dean, MSU Library
Anniversary News & Events
To celebrate 75 years of the Renne Library building, MSU Library invites members of the MSU and Bozeman communities to events throughout the year.
MSU Library Open House
Monday, January 13, 2025, 3-6 p.m.
MSU Library
MSU Library invites faculty, staff, graduate students, and community members to celebrate 75 years of the Renne Library building during the 2025 Open House.
The event takes and attendees will enjoy food and beverages, listen to music by Woodsmoke Jazz, and explore the services offered by MSU Library and its Open House partners. Fantastic door prizes will be offered, and there will be a cash bar. The décor, activities, and food are centered around an old Hollywood-style red-carpet event. That’s right, there will be a red carpet and glitter so get decked out in whatever version of glamor suits you best – gowns and tuxedos, bolo ties and boots, jeans and bow ties, or a style completely your own.
Attendees can learn about MSU Library, its history, and what it offers the campus and local communities today. Open House event partners will bring their unique spirit and enthusiasm to the event with games, hands-on activities, and information about their services and history.
The MSU Library Open House is made possible thanks to generous support from MSU Library, Friends of MSU Library, and the MSU Provost’s Office. RSVPs are not required. Contact MSU Library Events and Communications Manager, Ann Vinciguerra (406-994-6857; ann.vinciguerra@montana.edu), with questions or to find out more.
Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon: Women in Montana
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
MSU Library
MSU Library’s second annual edit-a-thon, with a focus on Women in Montana, invites participants to apply their information literacy skills to improving Wikipedia entries by reviewing source material, adding citations, and correcting errors.
Spring Break Tea Party
Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 3-5 p.m.
MSU Library
The Spring Break Tea Party returns for its third year. This year's event should be especially festive as we celebrate 75 years of the Renne Library building. More information will be posted here as it becomes available. We hope you will join us as we raise our cups, stick out our pinkies, and give three cheers for Renne Library's 75th anniversary.
September 2025
MSU Library
We're having a proper birthday celebration with a cake, candles, streamers, balloons and presents given to all who attend. Your greatest presents to us is your presence with us! Please come join us in our start-of-the-fall-semester celebration welcoming you campus and continuing the year-long birthday celebration.
This event will be in the MSU Library in September 2025. More details to come!
Trout and Salmonid Lecture
October 2025
MSU Campus
Our annual Trout & Salmonid Lecture Series will feature Theordore Roosevelt IV. That's right - the great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt and advocate for climate protection and the U.S. National Park System will have an on-stage conversation about his life, the current state of our waters and fishing climates, and the role of national parks in these ecological and recreational environments. More details to come!
Renne Library's 75th Anniversary in the News
- January 9, 2025, MSU News, Montana State’s Renne Library marks 75 years of serving students
Before Renne Library
MSU Library has been serving students since 1893 when funds were allocated to acquire library books for the Agricultural College of the State of Montana. In 1897, the library was located on the first floor of the then newly built Montana Hall and was sufficient to serve the 220+ students who attended the college. By 1949, the library was located on the second, third, and basement floors of Montana Hall and had seating for approximately 128 students. Books were also stored in department libraries in Morrill Hall, the biology building, and the chemistry building, with overflow books stored in Quonset huts and a horse barn.
The Original Library Building
On January 9, 1950, Montana State College opened the doors of its first dedicated
library building. The final designs were drawn by Fred Willson’s office, and encompass
areas that are now administrative offices, Archives and Special Collections, and the
Research Alliance. In 1960, the building was at capacity, so construction began an
addition which is the part of the building that most patrons now use every day. By
1961, the first-floor of the addition was accessible and in use by library patrons.
It included an open court with plants, a water feature, and a statue donated by the
classes of 1960 and 1961. The second and third floors were opened in 1967, and the
fourth floor was completed between 1969 and1977. The building was dedicated to Roland
R. Renne in 1978.
Renne-Vation
Between 2000 and 2004, the Renne Library underwent significant renovations impacting both the original building opened in 1950 and the 1960’s addition. During this process, the third-floor was filled in (previously it had an open floor view of the atrium) and the water fountain was added. The study area and the third floor of the old building were renovated into a finished space and two dormer windows were added. Additionally, the first-floor atrium was replaced with additional reading space and Brewed Awakening, the library’s coffee shop. The update also included code upgrades, structural seismic upgrades, asbestos abatement, a new fire sprinkler system and fire alarm, HVAC upgrades, lighting updates, and in 2004, updates to the windows. This renovation project is sometimes referred to internally as the “Renne-vation.”
Renne Library Today
Today the Renne Library building has seating capacity for almost 1,000 people and
sees about 4,000 visitors daily during the school year. In addition to daily users,
MSU Library offers access to services such as e-books, audio books, journal articles,
streaming services, research guides, and “Ask a Librarian,” a feature granting access
to library resources from anywhere on or off campus. We also have campus partners
housed in the library with whom we regularly partner to provide the best services
possible to our community.
Our newest partnership is the Research Alliance, housed on the library's 3rd floor. The Montana State University Research Alliance establishes the library as a central hub for research support, boosting collaboration, visibility, and access to resources across campus. You can learn more in this videocast here: Transforming the library into a research support hub.
Share Your Story
As we reflect on 75 years of the Renne Library building, we'd love to hear what the
MSU Library has meant to you. Do you have a library story you'd like to share? Your
story could be about a cherished study spot, a librarian or staff member who helped
you in your academic journey, or a favorite book, technology, or service you found
through the library.
Please submit your story here! We would be honored to add your voice to our anniversary celebration and may feature
your story in our exhibit, newsletter, or other materials.
The Next 75 Years
Today's MSU Library is as vibrant and relevant as ever. Today's environment requires people who are knowledgable in navigating our complex information environment. Librarians provide expertise in understanding information as presented in published materials, social media, blogs, in online environments with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and all of the information spaces in between.
Now more than ever, we need libraries to preserve reliable access to our past and to help us navigate our information future. Libraries provide spaces for collaboration and quiet study, technologies to do the work we need to do, expert librarians to help us understand our complex information environment, and safe and well-maintained archival spaces to provide preservation and access to our history.
Your donations can help us upgrade our 75-years-young facilities, allow us to keep the latest techologies available to students, provide preservation spaces and resources to maintain our archives, and forge partnerships to be leaders in today's research enviroment. We appreciate all of your support and encourage you to share your library story.