Timeline of NCSU Libraries
1880s
1889
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The North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College (now NCSU) established the library during the first year of classes. Daniel Harvey Hill, Jr., a professor of English and bookkeeping, was named college librarian. At the time the library occupied only a reading room in the Main Building (now Holladay Hall). For the next ten years, Hill ordered all of the books and supervised the student assistants. Due to his scholarly interests, the early collection was dominated by the humanities and history, despite the agricultural and engineering focus of the curriculum.
December: The Board of Trustees appropriated $500 for "library purposes" and $150 for subscriptions for magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals.
1890s
1899
College president George Tayloe Winston hired Edwin Bentley Owen as librarian, and he also brought in University of Texas librarian Benjamin Wyche to implement the Dewey Decimal System of book classification, construct a card catalog, and institute a card loan system.
1900s
1902
Owen left the library to teach English full-time. He was replaced by Marshall DeLancey Haywood, who was the first full-time librarian.
1903
When the college cut Haywood's salary ($500/year), he resigned. The college then hired Caroline Sherman as the first female librarian. With continued input from D. H. Hill, permanent chairman of the Library Committee, over the next three years Sherman tried to make the library comfortable for extra-curricular reading. The library subscribed to popular periodicals and newspapers from all of North Carolina's counties.
The library holdings moved to the first floor of Pullen Hall (since destroyed).
1906
Elise Stockard became librarian.
1908
D. H. Hill, now college president, appointed English professors Thomas P. Harrison and George Summey as co-chairs of the Library Committee. They began asking the faculty to recommend titles for the collection.
1910s
1910
Charlotte M. Williamson became librarian.
1911
Library holdings included 7,500 volumes and 150 magazine and journal subscription.
1920s
1923
The Zook Report, which made recommendations on the restructuring of the college, indicated that the library was inadequate for the needs of the growing institution and suggested that its services be centralized.
College president Eugene Clyde Brooks hired trained librarian James R. Gulledge. Brooks also mandated that all books in the departmental libraries be cataloged as part of the central library system.
1924
After a fire destroyed the card catalog, Gulledge changed the classification system from Dewey Decimal to the Library of Congress System (still in use).
1925
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During the fall, the library moved into its own building (now Brooks Hall). The building was dedicated on June 7, 1926.
After Gulledge left, the Library Committee directly oversaw the library. Frank Capps, director of college extension and instructor of business law, became executive secretary of the committee. Although he moved his office to the library, he did not have the professional training or the time to provide much oversight. A growing backlog of materials was left uncataloged and unusable, while poorly trained student assistants proved unable to assist patrons. Despite these difficulties, the collections continued to grow and procedures for interlibrary lending were instituted.
1930s
1931
Reba Davis Clevenger was hired as the first documents librarian.
1933
Hugh T. Lefler, head of the History Department and chair of the Library Committee, became acting director of the library.
NCSU joined UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University in contributing catalog cards to the North Carolina Union Catalog, the first collaborative effort by the three libraries.
July: The library collection consisted of 31,684 volumes and an additional 42,000 federal government publications.
1934
July: William Porter Kellam became head librarian. During his first year, there was only one formally trained librarian on the staff; the number of volumes was 33,500; circulation was 60,400; and expenditures were $6,900. During the next five years Kellam arranged the library into departments by function: circulation, reference, ordering, cataloging, and periodicals. He also centralized the acquisition of books and periodical subscriptions, a function that had been distributed among academic departments.
Robert Severance became the first circulation librarian.
Christine Coffey became the first professional cataloger.
Mary Shore became the first order librarian.
1935
Kellam changed Reba Clevenger's duties to reference librarian, and she was the first in that position.
1936
The library opened a Browsing Room.
Harlan Craig Brown became circulation librarian.
1937
Clyde Hull Cantrell became the first periodicals and binding librarian.
1939
With the fiftieth anniversary of the college, materials on the institution's history began to be collected in the library. This formed the basis of what later became the University Archives.
August: When Kellam left the library, the number of formally trained librarians was seven, the number of volumes was more than 57,000, circulation had climbed to 97,900 volumes, and expenditures had risen to $10,000.
September: The college appointed Harlan Craig Brown as library director.
1940s
1941
The Architecture Library opened as the first branch library, with Grace Sims Dalton as its first librarian. It was renamed the Harrye B. Lyons Design Library in 1968.
1942
All male library staff members left for military service during World War II. Brown took a leave of absence until 1946, and reference librarian Reba Clevenger became acting college librarian.
1944
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The Textiles Library was created, with Rachel Penn Lane as its first librarian. It was originally located in the main library, but it relocated to Nelson Hall in 1945. The name was eventually changed to the Burlington Textiles Library after 1954, when Burlington Industries funded its expansion.
1946
L. C. and M. M. Glenn donated $6,000 to the college for the library's purchase of geological publications, many rare and unique. In acquiring the L. C. Glenn Geological Collection, the Friends of the Library organization was first formed.
1949
Library holdings reached 100,000 volumes.
1950s
1952
The library collection consisted of 109,726 volumes. Its expenditures were $102,508 per year. There were 17.5 staff members at the time.
1954
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The new D. H. Hill Library (the east wing of the current building) was opened. The library was formally dedicated on March 12, 1955. The new library formed part of Brown's vision of a centralized campus library system. He sought to eliminate autonomous departmental libraries in favor of centrally controlled branch libraries.
1955
The library began reporting to the dean of faculty (later titled provost).
1956
The Library Committee instituted the formation of departmental library committees to serve as a means of communications between the departments and the library and to make recommendations for acquisitions.
1957
March: The library's Staff Association first met.
1958
William Jesse and Ruth Ringo issued a Report of a Survey of the Libraries of the North Carolina State College. The report indicated the library held only 165,406 volumes, which was 50 percent below that of other land-grant colleges in the South. Based on the report, the Library Committee recommended to the chancellor an increase in book acquisitions, better availability and accessibility of materials, organization of technical services to expedite acquisitions and cataloging, and curtailment of unauthorized departmental libraries.
1959
Edward Carson, one of the first African American undergraduate students at North Carolina State College, was hired as the library's first African American student assistant.
1960s
1960
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The library published its first newsletter, The Bookmark.
1962
Edward Walker was hired as a mail clerk, making him the first full-time African American staff member of the library.
1963
Librarians were given professional faculty status.
February: The Friends of the Library was reinstituted. It had largely been inactive since the late 1940s. Elbert E. Foster was the first president.
1964
Inez Ray established the Curriculum Materials Center. It was later renamed the Learning Resources Library and then the College of Education Media Center. The library received the Eugene Clyde Brooks collection of approximately 1,000 books and journals on the history of education and North Carolina. Doretha Blalock became the first African American employee of the library above the clerk level, and she may have been the first African American in a clerical position on campus. September: Littleton became acting director of the library. Brown continued to serve the library as associate director until his retirement in 1971.
1965
Installation of air conditioning was completed in the D. H. Hill Library.
The library used the NCSU Computing Center in the preparation and publication of the North Carolina Union List of Scientific Serials.
August: Maurice Toler became the first professionally trained, full-time university archivist. While housed in the library, the archives reported directly to the dean of faculty (later titled provost).
1966
July: A Technical Information Center opened in the D. H. Hill Library. It was a joint project of the library and the Industrial Extension Service.
1967
July: Littleton's title changed from "acting director" to "director."
The Cooperating Raleigh Colleges was established by the libraries of NCSU, Meredith College, Shaw University, Peace College, St. Mary's College, and St. Augustine College. The program allowed direct borrowing of library resources among the six campuses.
1968
The library held 426,304 volumes, still considered well below the number held by peer institutions.
After thefts of valuable volumes, a security system was installed in the D. H. Hill Library, and all doors were locked after service hours.
1969
Annual library expenditures were $827,638, of which $355,646 were for books, periodicals, and binding.
The library received the Sanford Richard Winston Music Collection, consisting of classical music scores, opera librettos, guides, biographies of composers, books on music criticism and history, and musical recordings.
1970s
1970
The North Carolina General Assembly made an appropriation for funding of libraries at the sixteen senior public institutions of higher education. NCSU received an increase of $723,915, resulting in a budget of $1,313,833 for fiscal year 1970-1971. The budget for books, periodicals, and binding increased to $624,123.
The School of Forest Resources Library opened in Biltmore Hall. It was later renamed the Natural Resources Library.
July: William V. Frazier was hired as the first African American in a professional librarian position.
September: William C. Horner became the first systems librarian.
1971
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The original eleven-story bookstack tower (now the North Tower) of the D. H. Hill Library was completed. It was dedicated on October 3, 1972. With the addition, the bookstacks were opened to all users (previously there had been closed bookstacks).
Staffing consisted of 91.5 full-time positions. The holdings were more than 500,000 volumes.
March: A single entrance to the library was established.
July: A reorganization of departments resulted in three major divisions headed by assistant directors. The divisions were General Services (including circulation), Reference Services, and Collection Development and Organization (including technical services). The school libraries - Design, Textiles, and Forest Resources - were now classified as branch libraries.
1973
NCSU became a charter member of the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET). Littleton served on SOLINET's initial board of directors, and he chaired its first bylaws committee.
July: Lillie D. Caster and Margaret Hunt were hired. They became the first African Americans in supervisory roles. Caster, hired as head cataloger, was the first African American in charge of a library unit.
1974
January: The "D.H. Hill Librarians" group had its organizational meeting. In 1984 the name changed to NCSU Librarians Association.
May: Littleton became the first chair of the University Library Advisory Council. The UNC system Board of Governors formed ULAC, composed of the library directors of the sixteen state-supported universities, to address issues of common concern.
1975
Renovations were completed for library services in the Erdahl-Cloyd Wing of the D. H. Hill Library. This wing of the library had been the student center from 1954 to 1972.
During the 1975-1976 fiscal year, book, periodical, and binding expenditures exceeded $1,000,000.
July: The library began computerized cataloging of materials. Retrospective conversion of the card catalog began the following year.
1976
A Rare Book and Special Collections Room, administered by the Reference Department, was established adjacent to the University Archives.
1977
The library directors at NCSU, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Duke University appointed a Triangle Universities Library Cooperation Committee (TULCC) to plan a cooperative program for the three universities.
1979
The library established a task force to address the needs of students with disabilities.
For the fiscal year 1979-1980, the library's book and periodical expenditures reached more than $1,550,000.
1980s
1980
The Triangle Research Library Network (TRLN), an outgrowth of TULCC, inaugurated a system to improve bibliographic access for users of the libraries of NCSU, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Duke University.
1981
February: D.H. Hill Library holdings reached 1,000,000 volumes. This goal was achieved partly through a "One-Million-Volume Campaign" initiated in 1978 by Chancellor Joab Thomas and Provost Nash Winstead.
November: NCSU's School of Veterinary Medicine opened, complete with a new Veterinary Medicine Library. Thea Fischer had become the first veterinary medicine librarian in April 1980. The library was renamed the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine in 2006.
1982
A Preservation Committee was established.
1983
The library became a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
1985
Littleton became vice chair of the TRLN board.
1986
The library's online catalog went live. It was originally called the Bibliographic Information System (BIS). The following year library staff stopped filing cards into the card catalog. In addition to providing information on NCSU holdings, BIS also gave users access to information on holdings at the other TRLN libraries.
1987
Use statistics for the fiscal year that ended in June were 120,000 reference questions, 3,500 bibliographic searches, 330,000 items loaned, 3,300,000 photocopies, 27,000 interlibrary loan transactions, and 652 reference requests from area businesses and governments.
The Friends of the Library Endowment was just over $200,000.
June: The first annual I. T. Littleton Seminar was held.
July: At the retirement of I.T. Littleton, the library book, periodicals, and binding budget was $3.1 million (up from $114,000 in 1958), the total library volume count was approximately 1,270,000, and the full-time staff and facilities had tripled in size (since 1964).
August: Susan K. Nutter became library director.
"The NCSU Libraries" became the official name of the library system, encompassing the D. H. Hill Library and the four branch libraries (Design, Natural Resources, Textiles, and Veterinary Medicine).
1988
March: The Libraries established the Office of Personnel Services. In 1989 a new position, Librarian for Professional Development and Education, was created to head this office. It was first filled by Karen Griffith.
The Friends of the Library held its first booksale.
1989
The NCSU Libraries assumed administrative control over the University Archives.
The NCSU Libraries adopted its current logo.
December: The NCSU Libraries celebrated its 100th anniversary. The celebration included the planting of three yoshino cherry trees, a gift from the Libraries staff, in front of the east wing.
1990s
1990
The automated circulation system was implemented.
The Information Technologies Teaching Center (ITTC) was begun in the D. H. Hill Library, initially funded through a gift from the NCSU Class of 1990.
January: The Collection Management Department began with Margaret Hunt as its first head. Hunt had been one of the first African American librarians hired during the 1970s.
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October: A new addition to the D. H. Hill Library (South Tower) was opened. Besides bookstack space, a special facilities room and the Class of 1989 Reading Room was added.
1991
In conjunction with the move of the College of Textiles, the Burlington Textiles Library moved to Centennial Campus, making it the first library unit on the new campus.
December: The library commenced a trial of an electronic document delivery service to university researchers.
1993
Nutter became president of ARL.
The Friends of the Library published Isaac T. Littleton's The D.H. Hill Library: An Informal History 1887-1987.
The Friends of the Library Endowment topped $1,000,000.
Because university advancement requirements set high minimum amounts for endowments, the Friends of the Library established Incubator Endowments, small endowments that could be pooled to meet the minimum university requirements.
The NCSU Libraries initiated a new information system, accessible to remote users through campus local area networks and the Internet. This included access to external databases and journal indexes, as well as the online catalog.
1994
During the 1993-1994 academic year, the holdings of the Libraries reached 2,000,000 volumes.
The NCSU Libraries initiated daily van delivery of library resources between the D. H. Hill Library and the branch libraries.
The NCSU Libraries was selected by ARL as one of six "Research Libraries of the Future."
January: An automated acquisitions process was initiated for purchase of new library resources.
1995
Nutter was given the additional title of vice provost.
Special Collections was established, and David Jackson was the first person to lead the department.
Self-service circulation began in the D. H. Hill Library.
1996
The NCSU Libraries began twenty-four hour service (Sunday through Thursday).
The Digital Library Initiatives department was formed.
October: With funding from a tuition increase, the NCSU Libraries initiated the TRIPSaver service for NCSU users to expedite retrieval of items from other TRLN libraries.
1997
January: The NCSU Libraries became a charter member of the JSTOR electronic archive of journal articles.
1998
The NCSU Libraries became a member of the Digital Library Federation.
January: The Scholarly Communication Center was established with Peggy E. Hoon as the first scholarly communications librarian. The library was the first in the nation to hire an intellectual property attorney to help both librarians and faculty interpret how copyright law protects or limits their access to information.
1999
April: NC LIVE (North Carolina Libraries in Virtual Education) began. NCSU has served as NC LIVE's primary server site.
April: Nutter received the Hugh Atkinson Award, recognizing leaders who have contributed significantly to improvements in the area of library automation, library management, and/or library development or research.
August: The Donald E. Moreland Associate Director for Public Services, the first named position in the NCSU Libraries, was created from an endowment established by Professor Emeritus Donald E. Moreland and his wife Verdie S. Moreland. Carolyn D. Argentati was the first to hold the position.
August: The NCSU Libraries became one of the first libraries to offer a Laptop Lending Service
December: The innovative NCSU Libraries Fellows Program was launched.
2000s
2000
The NCSU Libraries won the first-ever "Excellence in Academic Libraries Award" in the university library category. This award was sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
2001
The NCSU Libraries received a Special Achievement award recognizing its accomplishments in geographic information system (GIS) technology from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).
During the 2000-2001 academic year, the holdings of the Libraries reached 3,000,000 volumes.
2002
The NCSU Libraries was ranked 32nd among 112 ARL libraries, up from 101st in 1987 - an unprecedented accomplishment in ARL history.
August: The NCSU Libraries received its largest gift, a $1,000,000 charitable remainder trust, from an anonymous donor.
March: The Hill of Beans coffee bar opened in the D. H. Hill Library.
2003
April: The NCSU Libraries became a recipient of the American Library Association's Library of the Future award. The award was given because of the Libraries' Web-based, technology-enhanced, and graphically attractive Library Online Basic Orientation (LOBO) program.
May: The Learning and Research Center for the Digital Age (LRCDA) moved into newly renovated space on the second floor of the D.H. Hill Library's East Wing.
2005
January: Nutter was named the Librarian of the Year by the national trade publication Library Journal.
2006
January: The NCSU Libraries implemented a revolutionary new online catalog leveraging the advanced search and faceted navigation capabilities of the Endeca software platform. The new catalog has provided the speed and flexibility of popular online search engines, while capitalizing on existing catalog records.
2007
A major renovation of the east wing of the D. H. Hill Library was completed, featuring the Learning Commons, the Conservatory, the Special Collections Reading Room, and the Exhibit Gallery. The opening of the newly refurbished space on March 12 coincided with the fifty-second anniversary of the dedication of the original building in 1955.
The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated funding for the planning of the new James B. Hunt Jr. Library to be built on Centennial Campus.
See also
History of the NCSU Libraries' Directors
Other Timelines
Timeline of NCSU History
Timeline of African Americans at NCSU
Timeline of Athletics at NCSU
