About

The Cisco College Libraries will support student success by teaching transferable research skills that will enable students to access, evaluate and effectively use all media of information.

1909-1917: The first library for the college was in the Britton Training School which was housed in the Main Administration building on the current site of Schaefer Hall. Little is known of this first collection except that it included reference works in history, biology, travel, poetry and literature.

1922-1934: Randolph College inherited Britton’s library collection of 2,500 titles and when the college was admitted to the Association of Texas Colleges. The collection was then “improved and brought up to standard during these years”1, by 1929 the collection had grown to 3,000 titles.

1940-present: In 1940 the first professional librarian Mayme Estes was hired as Library Director and while still housed in the Administration building the collection, inherited from Randolph College, was cataloged, evaluated and began to grow slowly.

On January 6, 1954, a fire destroyed the old Administration Building and with it the library collection. After a year of limbo the library collection moved into temporary quarters in the newly built Schaefer Hall. From here Ms. Estes launched a campaign to rebuild the library and to collect books to replace the devastated collection. By her retirement in 1964 the collection swelled to 8,500 titles. The new librarian Oneta Ferguson arrived that year, and recognizing the need for a more student friendly home for the collection, she began the process of planning the current library.

The Maner Memorial Library is named for Mr. Leon Maner, a former member of the board of regents who was in office when the new library was dedicated on February 4, 1971. Mr. Maner not only donated the funds needed to complete the building but also donated his personal library of West Texas History and Memorabilia that became the core of the Texas Collection.

The library has continued to flourish and currently has approximately 25000 physical items.

In 2002 Cisco College began planning for the Abilene Educational Center. One of primary requests of the new facilities presented by the faculty and staff, and recognized by the Board of Regents, was the inclusion of a library for the students continued success. Prior to this time, all library materials were kept in an un-secure, unorganized and un-staffed ‘reading room.’

The broad plan for the new library included the basics of library services: a reference collection for immediate information needs, library instruction for student success and a secure location to house the collection of reference materials, magazines, journals and audio visual materials. The ultimate goal was to support of the educational goals of the college’s students, faculty and staff. With the financial support of the Dodge Jones Corporation, it was decided during the planning stages of the new facility to plan for a library that would be adequately staffed and under the direction of an ALA accredited librarian.

• Mayme Estes
• Oneta Ferguson
• Oliver Stillwell
• Oleta Shirley
• Dana Pearson
• Dr. Gary Fitsimmons
• Heather M. Williamson
• Makenzie Bingham
• Donna Clark