Short answers, pulled from the story.
Firestone Library opened its doors in 1948 as the first large American university library constructed after World War II. Roughly 1.5 million volumes moved during the summer of 1948 from East Pyne Hall to this new facility.
The building was named after tire magnate Harvey Firestone whose donation funded the project. Architects Robert B. O'Connor and Walter H. Kilham Jr. designed the structure to serve a rapidly expanding student body.
The Department of Special Collections houses significant holdings including the Scheide Library which became permanent following the death of William H. Scheide. It also contains the Cotsen Children's Library arrived in 1997 with notable items like the autographed manuscript of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Since the 1970s the library has collected Latin American and Spanish ephemera systematically using non-governmental primary sources rather than official government records. In early 2015 the Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean Ephemera became available to researchers thanks to a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Volumes relating to many academic subjects now reside at approximately a dozen other library buildings around campus including Lewis Science Library opened in the Fall of 2008. Two annexes located at the Forrestal campus store volumes less frequently used by daily patrons.