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About the Henderson-Wilder Library

Mission Statement

The Learning Commons at the Henderson-Wilder Library supports Upper Iowa University students, faculty, staff, and the broader community through dynamic print and digital resources, collaborative spaces, expert guidance, and the preservation of our institutional and local history — fostering research, engaged learning, and a deeper connection to the past that informs the future.

Vision Statement

The Learning Commons at the Henderson-Wilder Library serves as the living center of academic life at Upper Iowa University — a welcoming and evolving hub where students, faculty, staff, and the broader community find the print and digital resources, support, and inspiration they need to grow as learners and thinkers, enriched by an ever-growing collection built for discovery and by activities and gatherings that make the Learning Commons a destination for scholarship, collaboration, and campus life.

Henderson-Wilder Library Links

Bronze statue of David B. HendersonHenderson-Wilder Library History

From 1857-1901, UIU had only literary society and department libraries, and for a short time there was a library housed in College Hall (now Alexander-Dickman). In 1900 Andrew Carnegie donated $25,000 to build a library to be named in honor of his friend, David B. Henderson, first speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from west of the Mississippi. Mr. Henderson had attended UIU in 1861 but did not finish his college studies as he left Upper Iowa to fight in the Civil War. The David B. Henderson Library, a two-story building above a high basement, measuring 87 feet long by 70 feet wide, was dedicated November 11, 1902, during the inaugural celebration ceremonies for president Dr. Thomas J. Bassett. The office of the President and the Treasurer were located on the first floor.

In 1961 a third floor stack area was added to the library. In 1969 the library was renamed Henderson-Wilder Library when the Wilder addition was added with major renovations to the old Carnegie building, increasing total square footage to 43,563. The Wilder addition was named in honor of Frank Wilder, class of 1897, and his wife Mary whose estate gifts made completion of the addition possible.

Iowa Carnegie Academic Libraries

David B. Henderson

Bronze statue of David B. HendersonStatue of David B. Henderson

In 1902, Iowa Governor Larrabee commissioned J. Massey Rhind to create two statues of David B. Henderson – one bronze, the other in masonry.

The original bronze statue, located on Main Street in Clermont, Iowa, was used to make a copy for UIU’s statue by Max-Cast Foundry, Kalona, Iowa. UIU’s statue was installed in 1994.

The masonry statue was done for the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in St. Louis, Missouri and shipped to Des Moines, Iowa, for the State Museum in 1905. This statue has not yet been found as it was considered an item in storage.