St. Bonaventure University is home to many beautiful buildings.  Friedsam Memorial Library is often considered to be one of the most physically beautiful structures on campus.  The library has not always been what it is today, however.  St. Bonaventure's previous library was located in Alumni Hall.  Space in Alumni Hall was limited though, and by the 1930's the University decided a new library was needed.  The money needed to build this new library came from Colonel Michael Friedsam.  In 1938, the library was built and named Friedsam Memorial Library after its original benefactor.

    Although Colonel Michael Friedsam may have been the library's first major benefactor, he was most certainly not the last.  Many people have made donations to Friedsam Memorial Library throughout its history, in the forms of money, books, art, equipment, and other useful resources.  The purpose of this website, is to supply information about some of the most notable benefactors and collectors in the library's history.  It also discusses some of the people who turned those donations into useful parts of the collection--the librarians.  Most of the people discussed in this site made donations during the time that Father Irenaeus Herscher served as director of Friedsam Memorial Library, from 1937-1970.  This time period has been referred to as St. Bonaventure's "Golden Age of Benefaction." 

The navigation bar at the top of each page provides links to information about these donors and collectors and the librarians who provided our path to their wonders.