Dr Antoon Gerard Roos (1877–1953)

Also lector of ancient history in 1915 and professor of ancient history in 1917. Roos had been employed by the university library since 1904 working as a curator, when in 1906 he became its librarian. In the period 1887–1913, the number of visitors to the library as well as the number of books taken out on loan tripled. Inevitably, the number of employees increased, too. Because of these developments the library building, which had been renewed and expanded as recently as 1898, again proved to be too small. In 1919, a new building on the site of the old library was ready for use. Roos managed well to steer the library through all these changes. In 1917, he seized the opportunity to be appointed professor of ancient history and Roman antiquities, abdicating as librarian.