The Medical School has received a $3.5 million gift that will fully cover the construction of its new library and assure completion by 1961.

The sum, one of the largest in the history of the University, was donated by Miss Sanda Countway of Brookline, a lifelong resident in the area who is interested in medicine and medical research. Because of the gift, construction for the new library will begin a year from June, and the building will be ready for occupancy by the 1961 Fall Term.

Ralph T. Esterquest, librarian of the Medical School, said last night that the building will be slightly smaller than Lamont but of the same general architecture. It will have five times the capacity of the present out-moded Med School study area, a one-time amphitheatre.

Building Allows Expansion

The new library will have twice the shelf space necessary at present, thus allowing for expansion. Eventual plans may include special rapid loan service, a closed-circuit television system, and novel centralized cataloguing, Esterquest said that the lighting plans and study-stalls in the new building will be like those in Lamont.

The expected site for the structure is on Shattuck Steet in Boston between the Administration Building of the Med School and the School of Public Health.

Medical School officials originally set a goal of $7.5 million for the building project. Miss Countway's gift will cover the cost of construction, but an endowment of $4 million on the new library will be sought.

Recently, Esterquest circulated preliminary plans for criticism and changes among Med School faculty and administration and the University library staffs.