The Johnson School’s Management Library resides in one of the more distinctive buildings on the Cornell University campus. Sage Hall was first dedicated in May 1873 as Sage College and welcomed Cornell’s first 25 female students, making the university a pioneer in coeducation. Ithaca businessman Henry Sage advanced the concept of coeducation in 1868: “When you are ready to carry out the idea of educating young women as thoroughly as young men," Sage told his friend, Ezra Cornell, "I will provide the endowment to enable you to do so." With Mr. Cornell’s endorsement, Sage committed a quarter of a million dollars and Sage College was born.

In 1998, Sage Hall became the home of the Johnson School, following a $38.2 million reconstruction project, and the Victorian landmark was transformed into a modern standard of architectural, technological and educational distinction. The extensive renovations not only provided the Johnson School with 60% more space than the school's former home, Malott Hall, but also with more than 1,000 computer ports and 100,000 feet of fiber-optic cable. In addition, the renovated Sage Hall features an executive education center, dining hall, eight amphitheater classrooms, 25 team project rooms, a negotiations laboratory, and computing and videoconferencing facilities that link the school with corporate partners and alumni around the world. As part of the reconstruction project, extensive renovations were done on the building, including the restoration of the exterior to its original look.

The Management Library occupies prime space on the first floor of Sage Hall, which includes an addition to the original look of the building. Because Sage Hall is on the City of Ithaca’s registry of historical buildings, the architects had to follow very stringent guidelines as they designed the renovation. In their research, the architects discovered the original “footprint” that showed a series of greenhouses built into the original building. The addition that currently houses part of the Management Library mimics the size and shape of those greenhouses.

The Management Library benefits from its position within Sage Hall, both aesthetically and functionally. Skylights throughout the first-floor conservatory provide a bright and welcoming place for students to study and use the library’s public computers. Sky-lit reading rooms on the second and third floors provide a quiet respite for Johnson School students. The partnership with the Johnson School helps the Management Library distinguish itself among the 20 libraries that serve the Cornell community. It is the mission of the Management Library to support the academic interests of the Johnson School students, staff, and faculty. As such, the library serves as the center of academic activity in the Johnson School, which includes 60 faculty members, 20 adjunct or visiting faculty members, 589 MBA students, 246 Executive MBA students, 40 PhD students, and more than 10,000 alumni.

The library’s on-site collection includes more than 55,000 volumes, 860,000 microtexts, and more than 1,000 print subscriptions, including serials, periodicals, and newspapers. Topics covered in depth include accounting, corporate data, finance, investments, management, and marketing. Electronic resources are in high demand by today’s business researcher and the Management Library provides an extensive list of electronic business resources. In addition to the widely available on-line business information databases, such as Factiva, LexisNexis and ProQuest Direct, the library also offers access to specialized electronic services such as Bloomberg and Datastream, which distribute price and volume data on publicly traded securities, news stories and investment advice. Analyst reports, recommendations, and ratings are available from Thomson One Banker and Investext Plus. The highly sophisticated but user-friendly CareerSearch enables students to quickly identify companies — even hard to find, small-growth companies — that match their specific career interests.

One of the integral services offered by the Management Library staff is instruction. The library’s instruction team provides course-specific, job search, and general research skills instruction to the Johnson School community. Instructors work with faculty members, school staff, and club officers to prepare customized training sessions. In addition, the library offers over 80 scheduled workshops each year to provide business students with the research skills they will need while students and throughout their careers. In 2006, more than 1,900 participants attended workshops offered by the Management Library staff.

The Johnson School administration recognizes the important role played by the library’s instruction team. As Associate Dean Cathy Dove says “Students rave about the library workshops - they are quick, targeted and focus on extremely useful information. A must-do!" One of the Johnson School faculty has incorporated library instruction directly into his curriculum, resulting in every first-year MBA student taking part in an Introduction to Financial Databases workshop offered by the library. In addition to its physical location within Sage Hall, the Management Library also maintains a vibrant virtual existence. Our web site is often the first stop for the business researcher, highlighted by an innovative list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and several resource lists and research guides.

Providing extensive service to a diverse clientele is the focus of the Management Library. Our mission is made evident by the fact that the library is open more than 98 hours per week during the academic year. In-depth access to business information and an excellent staff help to make the Management Library an outstanding academic business research facility.