Major Gift Donated to Columbia College Chicago Library

Columbia College Chicago is very pleased to announce that the Columbia College Chicago Library is the benefactor of a major gift from the Horace A. Jimerson trust. Horace was a long-time employee of the college overseeing instructional media. Paula Epstein (retired reference and instruction librarian) was his trusted friend and the "sister he never had." He bequeathed a gift of books, music, film and ephemera to the library and because of Paula, a monetary gift of $150,000. This gift will enable the library to deepen its relationship with students, faculty and staff, raise awareness, and increase use of its well-researched services and resources. Plans include creating a second classroom for over 40 students on the second floor where faculty can schedule larger class sizes. Per Horace's wishes to honor Paula, the current classroom used for library instruction will be named the Paula Singer Epstein Library Classroom. The library will continue to develop as an interdisciplinary hub where intellectual, creative and social intersections occur.