The area in McCartney Library known as the “Periodicals Room” did not start out that way. Instead, when the Library was built in 1930-1931, it was designed to be “a room for dramatic and kindred work with a seating capacity of 150 or more, an adjoining room for stage furniture, and another for a dressing room that by day can be used if necessary for a classroom.”

And so, for over 30 years, it was called the “Little Theater,” and was the scene of dramas, performances, lectures, club parties, and… even a wedding! On January 14, 1944, First Lt. Bill Musick ‘43 and Marge Morgan ‘44 were wed in the Little Theater, with nuptials performed by President M. M. Pearce. A host of friends and relatives gathered in the beautifully decorated “chapel” to witness the ceremony. The groom left Geneva before graduating to enter the Army Air Corps, and at the time of the wedding had completed 68 missions in the Solomon Islands as a bombardier. He had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times and the Air Medal four times. The bride, sister of Geneva football great, “By” Morgan ‘40, was completing her senior year. The wedding was particularly significant as it was the first of its kind to be performed on campus.

Things had changed by 1965, with space in McCartney Library at a premium. An addition was planned to accommodate the growing collections and services. The room occupied by the Little Theater and its auxiliary drama department rooms was now needed for the Library, and a former Isaly’s store nearby was remodeled for use as a “temporary” theater, with its first production (“The Mouse That Roared”) debuting in November of 1966. (Sixty years later, that temporary theater, the beloved Bagpiper, is still in regular use!) The theater became the Periodicals Room, with the “stage” area used for the Reserve Book check-out area.

Work proceeded on the library addition throughout the fall of 1965, and the entire building, including the new Periodicals Room, was ready for use by January of 1966. The dedication of the McCartney Library Addition was held on Founders’ Day, April 20, 1966.

The type and number of resources housed in the Periodicals Room has changed in the last 59 years, as has the look of the room. In 1988, the furniture on the stage area was replaced with a set of living room furniture to provide a more comfortable atmosphere. In 2015 the room received new flooring, paint, and plaster in some places. In Summer of 2022, the room was updated to make the area a better collaborative study space for students, which included removal of shelving on the outside walls, to be replaced by white boards, new furniture; and carpet for the floor. Without doubt, the most noticeable change occurred in the spring of 1998, when compact shelving units were installed to allow for current holdings to be rearranged and addition of more periodicals. In the Summer of 2023, a large gold and white wool blanket proclaiming GENEVA was hung on the back wall of the stage area. (This blanket was used at Geneva events as far back as 1954 and had recently resurfaced and been given to Archives.)

From Little Theater to student study space, the Periodicals Room is just one of the treasured resources that McCartney Library provides to Geneva’s campus.

Click on the above images to view more photos of the Periodicals Room over the years.

This article originally appeared in The Cabinet, April 23, 2025.