FONDREN LIBRARY
The 1891 Charter of Incorporation for Rice University provided for
the establishment and maintenance of a free public library and
reading room. Fondren Library is regularly used by citizens of
Houston. In 1995-96, approximately 690,000 people visited the
library; on an average day, about 21.5% of the patrons were from
outside Rice. This library began with a collection of fewer than 200
volumes. Today, Fondren Library is a research library with over 1.9
million volumes, 2.3 million microforms, 10,000 current serials and
periodicals, and 28,000 titles on audio tape, video tape, and compact
disc. The library is also a selective depository for U.S. and Texas
government publications and for U.S. patents and trademarks. The
library's holdings are broad, reflecting the various interests of the
university community.
Rare book and manuscript collections of note in Fondren Library's Woodson Research Center include:
NASA's Johnson Space Center History Archive
Public Service Archives of James A. Baker, III, 61st Secretary of State, 67th Secretary of the Treasury, former White House Chief of Staff, and former Undersecretary of Commerce
Papers of William L. Clayton, author of the Marshall Plan
Papers of Julian Huxley
Masterson Collection of Texana
Benjamin Monroe Anderson Collection on the History of Aeronautics
