A new library for the Horticultural Sciences Department, comprised of materials from professors' personal collections, was unveiled Friday.
The Vimla and Indra Vasil Library and Reading Room, in Fifield Hall, houses rare and valuable materials that can't be found elsewhere on campus.
"Our oldest publication dates back to the 1500s," said Daniel Cantliffe, the chairman of the department. "The entire collection is worth between $500,000 and $1 million."
The library opened in December, but about 40 people attended Friday's ceremony, which recognized and publicized the completion.
"We have collected over 3,000 volumes and over 90 journals related to horticulture for the library," Cantliffe said.
Deceased faculty member James Soule left a large collection to the department when he died in 1994. Indra Vasil, a graduate research professor emeritus, donated his entire personal library when he retired in 1999.
These collections were combined with donations from Cantliffe and others.
Vasil has collected books since he was a graduate student in India 50 years ago, adding about two books a month to his collection. He said he wants the library to be a place where students can access otherwise unavailable research materials.
The $250,000 renovation began in 2006. It took another year to catalog the materials, Cantliffe said.
"We had a real battle convincing the administration to give us the space," Vasil said.
Cantliffe said he hopes the library will stimulate UF students who don't know about horticultural sciences to learn more about the department.
"All of our students receive scholarships," he said. "And all of them have jobs by the time they graduate."
About 44 undergraduate and 78 graduate students make up the horticultural sciences department, Cantliffe said.
He said the library will help students with research projects because it will give them access to publications dating to before the 1960s that are unavailable online or at other UF libraries.
"We have been working on the library for many years," he said. "And now that it's open, it is something really special."
The library is not linked with other UF libraries because its rare books cannot be loaned out. But any UF student or faculty member may use the three study areas, the computers and the research materials.
About 10 people a day use the library, said librarian Stephanie Miller. But she thinks that number will increase as more people discover it's open.
"I think the library is a valuable resource for anyone studying food and agricultural sciences," she said.
