and provided labor for Museum receptions and parties and organized 
‘family nights’’ for members. It also undertook membership drives, 
which proved extremely successful. In 1960 the Academy’s member- 
ship soared to over 1,000. Other volunteer groups worked with the 
Women’s Division in support of the Museum, including the Girl Scouts, 
the Junior League, the Greater St. Louis Shell Club, the Herb Society, 
and the Chi Omega and Gamma Phi Beta Sororities’ alumnae. 
While the Academy welcomed the help it received from the com- 
munity and enjoyed the progress of its new Museum, problems remained. 
One issue that continued to plague the organization was what to do with 
the Academy’s library materials, which consisted of over 70,000 pieces.*® 
When the Academy sold the Lindell building in 1956, the library went 
into storage at St. Louis University’s Pope Pius Library. Three years 
later, when the Academy obtained the housés in Oak Knoll, the university 
informed the Academy that it wished to place the books and periodicals 
on its shelves. But it would do so only if the Academy gave it sole title 
to the collection. 
The issue of giving the library to St. Louis University was an emo- 
tional one. Some members totally rejected the idea of parting with a 
dominant symbol of the Academy’s 103-year-old history, while others 
were willing to consider doing so under certain conditions.° In the end, 
these conditions were agreed to by the university, and in 1961 the library 
became the property of the Pope Pius XII Library. 
The ostensible reason the Academy gave for the donation was that 
the materials would be accessible to the public at the university’s library. 
Other important considerations, however, included the lack of space 
for books at Oak Knoll Park and the university’s willingness to re-bind 
the books and make other costly repairs. !° 
Although it gave up its library in 1961, the Academy continued 
collecting the publications of other science societies. However, it ceased 
the regular publication of the Transactions.'! There appeared to be 
several good reasons for this, but the main one was that the organiza- 
tion simply needed all the money it could find to run the Museum of 
Science and Natural History. 
All of the Museum’s operations and programs—from building 
maintenance to polished exhibits—required significant sums. In the 1960s 
these requirements were met by a variety of sources, including gifts 
from corporations, organizations and individuals; grants from founda- 
tions; proceeds from membership dues and fund-raising events; and 
money raised when the Academy joined a coalition for the promotion 
of cultural activities in the St. Louis area. 
In the first five years, cash donations to the Museum of Science 
and Natural History came from various sources in support of different 
58 
