In the 1960s college and university librarians espoused the establishment of undergraduate libraries with their own separate buildings. At UT, in 1960, the undergraduate collection was housed on the first floor of Hoskins Library and contained about forty thousand volumes and an open collection of books, periodicals, and current magazines.
In 1964 planning began for an undergraduate library to be located at the corner of Temple Avenue (now Volunteer Boulevard) and Rose Avenue (now Andy Holt Avenue) on the site of the William Shields House. Construction began in 1967, shortly after the General Assembly appropriated the funds, and shortly after the death of library advocate John C. Hodges.
The building was dedicated September 26, 1969, with former US Senator Herbert S. Walters presiding, and Chancellor Charles Weaver receiving the keys to the building. It was named the John C. Hodges Undergraduate Library. The cornerstone of the library contained a 1969 UT yearbook, a 1969–70 catalog, library development reports for 1966–68, and John C. Hodges’ three books: the sixth edition of the Harbrace College Handbook, The Life of Congreve, and The Library of Congreve.
The four-story 110,000-square-foot building cost $2.5 million, had a capacity of 228,000 volumes, provided seating for more than 1,800 students, had 15 study rooms, 900 individual carrels for student study, and several lounges. It featured UT’s first escalators. This library was “renovated and expanded” into the current John C. Hodges Library, which opened on the site in 1987.