Interesting Facts on the History of the Library you may not know!

In 1901, educator Annie Wood founded the Irene Leache Library to honor her friend and fellow teacher and began to display rare books. The books were moved to the newly-constructed Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, created through the efforts of the Norfolk Society of Arts, in 1933. In 1971 Walter P. Chrysler Jr. and his wife, Jean, came to the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences and renamed it the Chrysler Museum of Art, bringing with them not only a well-rounded collection of art but a large library. The library had been previously stored in the basement of the original Chrysler Museum structure, a converted Methodist Church in Provincetown, Mass. In 1977 the 140-year-old, 60,000 volume Knoedler Library was purchased for the museum, and added major art reference books and extremely rare annotated sales catalogues to the collection. The library collection's expansion needed $150,000 to create a suitable space. Fundraisers were planned, and a grant appeal was made to the National Endowment for the Arts. In the interim before the completion of the library, the collection was stored in the Norfolk school administration building and functioned under the care of Mrs. Chrysler. The 6,000 square foot library was named for Mrs. Chrysler as the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and opened within the walls of the Chrysler Museum on April 4, 1989. Over the years the collection has continued to grow and now contains 106,896 volumes!