Library History
Library Mission
The Libraries support the university by helping to promote excellence in learning, research and teaching. This is achieved through providing access to a wide array of information resources, services and facilities.
Hampton Institute's Libraries 1868-1980's
- General Samuel Chapman Armstrong established first Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute library collection in the Mansion House
- Library collection filled the reading rooms of Virginia Hall by the end of the 19th century

- In 1903, Collis P. Huntington Library constructed to hold expanding library collection
- Designed by W.F. Brooks, Huntington Library featured craftsmanship of Hampton Institute Trade School students
- Renovations and additions in 1920 and 1968 supported transition from vocational school to liberal arts college curriculum
- Hampton Institute became Hampton University in 1984
- By the 1980’s, Huntington building proved inadequate to meet the needs of a modern university

Huntington Library Staff in the rotunda circa 1980's
Hampton University's Libraries 1992-present
- New, state-of-the-art building, constructed to support comprehensive university collection
- Named for Hampton University’s twelfth president, William R. Harvey, and his wife, Norma B. Harvey
- Designed by architects Hubert Taylor and William Mulligan of Livas Associates, Hampton alumni

Presentation drawing of William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library
- Dedicated on January 26, 1992, the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library became the main academic library for Hampton University
- Departmental libraries in Architecture and Music provide additional information resources on the main campus
- Huntington building renovated for University Museum and Archives in 1996
- Information resource center established to serve Hampton University College of Virginia Beach in 2003