North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Publications 1916-2024

Summary
Contents
Names/subjects
Using these materials
Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.
Creator
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
Size
62.6 linear feet (99 archival storage boxes, 8 cartons, 2 legal-size boxes, 2 flat folders); 225 megabytes; 11 files; 1 website
Call number
UA 102.200
Access to materials

Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Copies of digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.

We perform virus scans upon ingest and upon request for access. However, not all virus software profiles will catch all threats, especially newer, not yet recognized ones. The researcher assumes all risk when opening files.

While electronic files are made available to researchers, some files may not open with current software or at all. Researchers may be required to find and use legacy software packages to read files.

Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service publications contain a wide variety of published material relating to the activities, aims, functions, and programs of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Through the years, the Service's mission has encompassed agricultural education, agricultural extension work, home demonstration work, and rural extension. In 1909, the Service played a vital role in establishing boys' clubs, which later became 4-H clubs. Through the Home Demonstration Department (later Department of Family and Consumer Sciences), girls' clubs were soon added to the programs available for young people. The records represent both single and serialized items. Materials range in date from 1916 to 2022, and include archived web cotent.

Although extension and demonstration work in North Carolina had been active since the early years of the twentieth century, the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service was only officially created in 1914 as a result of the Smith-Lever Act. In 1991 the name was changed to the current one, the Cooperative Extension Service.

Biographical/historical note

From its inception as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, North Carolina State University has been deeply involved in outreach and extension work. In the 1890s and early 1900s, college personnel took part in numerous Farmers' Institutes statewide, where they and State Agricultural Department personnel met with local farmers to discuss farm improvement techniques. In 1907 James A. Butler became North Carolina's first county agent, hired to conduct demonstration work in boll weevil eradication.

In 1909, State College (later North Carolina State University) expanded its extension efforts when it signed a memorandum of agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture to cooperatively develop Farmers' Boys' Clubs, or Corn Clubs. Ira O. Schaub became the first director of this program, which eventually became the 4-H program. The first Girls' Clubs, focusing primarily on tomato canning and gardening, were established after Jane McKimmon was hired in 1911 to lead a statewide Home Demonstration program.

Greatly boosting extension work, the 1914 Smith-Lever Act provided for federal, state, and county cooperation in creating a system to expand demonstration and extension work for men and women. The law authorized land-grant colleges to sign memoranda of understanding with the United States Department of Agriculture to begin such work. With this, State College created a new Department of Extension.

In 1924, Schaub returned as the new Extension director, a position he held until 1950. Administratively, Extension changed as more and more of its functions were transferred to State College. The 1920s and 1930s saw widespread change in the extension youth programs as well. Schaub appointed Lera R. Harrill as State 4-H Club Leader in 1926.

During World War II, extension programs played a vital role in the local war effort. The postwar years saw the Extension Division move closer administratively to the College's School of Agriculture. In 1950 a reorganization of the School of Agriculture brought the three fields of work - teaching, research, and extension - into the direct orbit of the School.

Economic difficulties in the 1970s saw the Extension Service increase its activities in rural food production and nutrition, including the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Extension also worked with farmers facing serious economic troubles to improve their situations. In 1991, the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service changed its name to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service to better reflect a shift in activities beyond the development of state and local agriculture.

Scope/content

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Publications records contain a wide variety of published material relating to the activities, aims, functions, and programs of the Service. Through the years, the Service's mission has encompassed agricultural education, agricultural extension work, home demonstration work, and rural extension. In 1909, the Service played a vital role in establishing boys' clubs, which later became 4-H clubs. Through the Home Demonstration Department (later Department of Family and Consumer Sciences), girls' clubs were soon added to the programs available for young people.

The materials range in date from 1916 to 2019. The publications represent both single and serialized items, as well as web content, although it should be noted that the records are far from complete. In addition, for some older serialized and numbered publications, bound and/or microfilmed copies also exist in the Libraries' general stacks. These copies are also likely to be more complete than many of the same publications in this collection. More detailed information can be found in the scope and content notes for each series.

Arrangement

The Cooperative Extension Service Publications records are divided into five series: 4-H Publications, Family and Consumer Science Publications, Numbered Publications, Non-Numbered Publications, and Web Content.

Use of these materials

The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Publications, UA 102.200, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Related material

Source of acquisition

Transferred from North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Web content harvested using the Internet Archive's Archive-It service.

Processing information

Processed by: Kristie Peters, Stephanie Horowitz, Pat Webber, Lea Walker; Laura Abraham, 2009 August; machine-readable finding aid created by: Pat Webber; Finding aid updated by Laura Abraham, Cate Putirskis, and Todd Kosmerick, 2009-2013; Digital materials processed by Cathy Dorin-Black, 2015 December; Archived web content processed by Brian Dietz, 2019 May; addition processed and finding aid updated by Shima Hosseininasab, 2021 July; Additional Digital materials processed by William Boyer, 2023 July; Digital materials processed by Alexander Daniels, 2023 September, 2024 March

Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.
Please note that some historical materials may contain harmful content and/or descriptions. Learn how we’re addressing it.

Access to the collection

Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Copies of digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.

We perform virus scans upon ingest and upon request for access. However, not all virus software profiles will catch all threats, especially newer, not yet recognized ones. The researcher assumes all risk when opening files.

While electronic files are made available to researchers, some files may not open with current software or at all. Researchers may be required to find and use legacy software packages to read files.

Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.

Mailing address:
Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111

Phone: (919) 515-2273

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Publications, UA 102.200, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Use of these materials

The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.