Robert W. Woodruff Library

The Stuart A. Rose Rare Books Library is located on the ninth and 10th floor of the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Since it is so high, it offers gorgeous views of Emory and Atlanta. It is home to original manuscripts from important literary figures such as Allen Ginsberg, Alice Walker, and Seamus Heaney. It also contains many documents from the civil rights movement, as well as documentation from Emory’s history—including club records and yearbooks. Students can visit on their own, with a class, or for archival research purposes.

Even after the 1955 renovation of the Candler Library, the university still needed more library space to meet the growing demands of research. To solve this, the Robert W. Woodruff Library was built and opened in 1969. The Robert Woodruff Library is 10 stories. The first floor has a coffee shop (Banjo), Student Technology Services, and group study spaces. The second floor is where students can borrow books and visit the service desks. On the third floor, you will find changing art exhibits, which are part of the Schatten Gallery. The fourth floor contains the Music & Media Library. The fifth through eighth floors are the stacks, home to roughly 3 million volumes. Within the stacks are cubicle spaces and group study rooms. The ninth and 10th floors are the Stuart A. Rose Rare Books Library.

By the entrance of the library is a statue of Robert W. Woodruff, the businessman and philanthropist who headed The Coca-Cola Company for many years and gave generously to Emory University. He donated $105 million in Coca-Cola stock in 1979–which was the largest gift given to a university at the time. That gift has grown into our endowment, valued at about $11.2 billion. This endowment allows us to have such a beautiful campus, recruit amazing faculty, and give scholarships to students.