While visiting the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, you may have heard the sound of bells playing music. Whether it’s The Stars and Stripes Forever at noon or holiday tunes in December, you likely paused and wondered about its source. Those sounds ringing through the town of West Branch come from the carillon located on the second floor.

A traditional carillon is a keyboard instrument used to play a set of bells. As they are bells, they are normally found in bell towers and are not a common instrument. The closest one to West Branch is found in Ames, Iowa on the Iowa State University campus.

The one found at the Library is actually electronic, as explained by my guide, Facility Manager Todd Groth. The tradition of having an electronic Carillon playing music for visitors dates back to 1966, a few short years after Library’s opening. That first version was quite large and worked by a vacuum system through vacuum tubes. There were a set of 44 metal bars of varying lengths that produced a sound when struck by small rods, as noted in an article by Gregory R. Norfleet of The West Branch Times in from October 20, 2016.

The original carillon found on the second floor

The automated music was guided by perforated rolls, much like that of a player piano. There was, however, an unused keyboard installed in the auditorium that allowed the instrument to be manually played.

A close-up view of the paper roll used in the old carillon

As time wore on the old instrument, it began to experience failures. Unable to be repaired and of no interest to anybody, including the manufacturer, Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., for spare parts, the original carillon was discarded and replaced by a second, much smaller digital one in the early 2000s.

The newer carillon

Instead of large paper rolls, the tunes on this one are controlled by cartridges, each loaded with a set of themed melodies. Themes include Classical, patriotic, Christmas, contemporary, and more. The tunes, if the user wishes, can be selected individually, as a partial, by the playlist of the entire cartridge, or be downloaded as a mix among varying cartridges.

Musical cartridges for the newer carillon

As the music is projected from the roof vent and the carillon is located on the second floor, getting the proper perspective on how it all worked necessitated a trip into the attic. We walked through the library among the rows of shelves where Herbert Hoover’s papers are kept to another set of steps and through a doorway into an area ignored by librarians and archivists. There, you can view the wiring disappearing into the ceiling, where it connects to the hidden speaker system above.

A view of the carillon wiring disappearing into the attic ceiling

When the library and museum renovation is completed, the exhibits will take visitors into the story of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover like never before. It will be a marvel for current and future generations, but on the second floor, the old carillon, whose sound has been grabbing visitors’ attention for two decades, will continue the same musical role it’s had for the past 20 years.

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