On November 16, 2006, Chancellor James L. Oblinger formally
dedicated the Veterinary Medical Library as the William
Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine. The
library dedication honors the extraordinary support of Kenan,
one of NC State University’s most generous philanthropists.
It also honors the Randleigh Foundation Trust--a charitable organization
established by Kenan--for its ongoing commitment to such important
initiatives as the NCSU Libraries and the College of Veterinary
Medicine.
William Rand Kenan Jr., an 1894 chemistry graduate of UNC-Chapel
Hill, had a variety of successful professional interests including
engineering, agriculture, education, science, finance, and business.
Under the provisions of his 1965 will, the Randleigh Foundation
Trust was established to support education. The William R. Kenan,
Jr. Memorial Scholarship Endowment, created in 1986, annually
supports six students pursuing a D.V.M. degree.
During the ceremony, Chancellor Oblinger unveiled a brass-and-cherry
plaque inscribed with the new name of the library and the date
of the dedication. The plaque will hang in the library in commemoration
of the special day. He then noted, "Through the Randleigh
Foundation Trust, the philanthropy of William Rand Kenan, Jr.
will have a lasting impact on the future of our students, our
faculty, our staff, and our university."
Thomas S. Kenan III, nephew of William R. Kenan
Jr., represented the Kenan family at the dedication. Toward the
end of the ceremony, Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Susan
K. Nutter presented Kenan with an original watercolor featuring
the Kenan family's beloved Jersey cows. A copy of the painting
will hang in the library, and all dedication guests received
a print of the watercolor as a memento of the occasion.
Numerous guests attended the event, including University of
North Carolina President Emeritus Bill Friday, NC State Provost
Larry Nielsen, NC State Board of Trustees Chair Wendell Murphy,
and Trustees Ann Goodnight, Derick Close, Richard Vaughn, Steve
Warren, former lieutenant governor Bob Jordan, and Bob Mattocks.
When the veterinary library opened in 1981, the collection consisted
of approximately 2,000 monographs, 3,000 bound serial volumes,
and 450 periodical subscriptions. Today the library houses 23,048
monographs, 35,771 bound serial volumes, and 484 periodical subscriptions.
The collections encompass veterinary medicine, human medicine,
and life sciences. Areas of particular strength include physiology,
animal sciences, genomics, veterinary pathology, animal behavior,
and fish medicine.
The library became one of the first in the country to explore
the use of handheld computers--personal digital assistants or
PDAs--as part of its medical education program. It offers a Web
interface for searching the online catalog over a wireless network,
as well as links to PDA-friendly veterinary resources, news,
and announcements. "The mission of our library is critical
to the college as technology continues to enhance the collection
and dissemination of medical information," said Dean Warwick
Arden.
The college's use of PDAs expanded to include instructional
video clips and logs for students to record clinical experiences.
The library also loaned PDAs so students could "test drive" expensive
electronic veterinary textbooks before purchasing them. The PDAs
are still used by all veterinary students, and the library continues
to be part of the Mobile Computing Initiative. "Our Veterinary
Medicine Library is one of the finest in the country," stated
Chancellor Oblinger, and it is a significant factor in the college's
rank of fourth among the nation's twenty-eight colleges of veterinary
medicine according to U.S. News and World Report.
