NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 3 - Spring 2001

By Tony Reevy, Library Development

In September 2000 Associate Director for Organizational Effectiveness June Brotherton established the Brotherton-Barnette Library Endowment at the NCSU Libraries. The fund honors her parents, Ralph Shelton and Mary Cathryn Barnette Brotherton.

Ralph Brotherton, a retired textile mill worker and convenience store owner, is the youngest of twelve children. He grew up on a farm near Denver, North Carolina, and served with great distinction in World War II.

Mary Cathryn Barnette Brotherton is a native of Huntersville, North Carolina. She worked as a secretary in the Leaksville Woolen Mills and as traffic manager in a dry- and cold-storage warehouse until her retirement. During the 1950s and 1960s, Brotherton pursued her career while raising two children--an unusual achievement in those years.

The Brothertons married in 1947 and lived in Denver, which is near Charlotte, North Carolina. They reared two daughters, Linda Brotherton Williams and June Brotherton.

June Brotherton felt that a library endowment was the most appropriate way to honor her parents and their achievements. "One of my earliest memories is sitting wedged between my mother and sister, as my mother taught my sister to read. We went to the library almost every week to check out books. My mother expected us to read. Education is very important to my parents. They always expected that I would go to college. My father, who has an eighth-grade education, always told me that an education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you."

During her college years at NC State, Brotherton explored the library. She explained, " When I came to NC State, I was used to libraries that were lucky to have 10,000 volumes. I was fascinated by the D. H. Hill Library. During my spare time, I liked to just walk through the stacks, pull interesting books off the shelves, and read them."

Brotherton received a B.S. in animal science and poultry science in 1974 and also earned an M.P.A. at NC State in 1993. She has used her education and experience to advance agriculture and education in North Carolina. In addition to her current position with the NCSU Libraries, her twenty-six-year career includes work as public affairs director for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, head of NC State's Agricultural Communications Department, and assistant to the chancellor for government relations and associate vice chancellor for extension at NC State.

Brotherton's interest in public administration and North Carolina's advancement also encouraged her to make this generous gift. " Several things led me to support the library. I know how NC State faculty and students feel about this library. Supporting it and its efforts to maximize resources for faculty and students is one of the most cost-effective ways to support the university as a whole. In working for the state, I saw how the information explosion has impacted people's ability to get work done. It is difficult to know how to access the most credible information. The NCSU Libraries is a valuable resource for government agencies in this regard. In addition, the library has a strong service ethic--people here are motivated and excited about what they do."

The library's immense, behind-the-scenes support for NC LIVE, North Carolina's statewide electronic library, also impressed Brotherton. " Many North Carolina counties are low-wealth counties. It is so crucial for them to have access to the sort of service and information that NC LIVE provides. Helping to run NC LIVE underlines the fact that NC State lives up to its extension mission."

The Brotherton-Barnette Library Endowment will produce income providing unrestricted support for the NCSU Libraries. Brotherton explains, " It is incumbent upon those of us who have benefited from an NC State education, or from its services, to find a way to give back. No state agency will ever receive all the resources it needs from governmental funding alone. This endowment is a wise investment that will live on in my parents' names."