The Louis Round Wilson Library is a library at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. Completed in 1929, it served as the university's main library until 1984. Today, it houses several special collections. The dome rises 85 feet over the university's South Quadrangle.

History

The library was constructed between 1927 and 1929 at the far end of the South Quadrangle at a time of rapid growth for the university. Twenty-three buildings were constructed on the UNC campus between 1920 and 1931. Architect Arthur Cleveland Nash, together with William Kendall of famed firm

McKim, Mead, and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

, designed the

neo-classical building Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

in the Beaux-arts style. The building follows the standard plan of Carnegie libraries across the United States. In 1923, the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

reported having no objection to the university building a new library and converting the 1907 Carnegie-funded library to other uses. However, the university did not apply for library construction funds in 1924 for the new building. Wilson Library was named for

Louis Round Wilson Louis Round Wilson (December 27, 1876 – December 10, 1979) was an important figure to the field of library science, and is listed in “100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century,” an article in the December 1999 issue of ''Am ...

, the university's first librarian, in 1956. Prior to the renaming, the building had been referred to as "the library." Wilson had campaigned for a new library building for most of the 1920s, wanting a building that would house enough books to make it a library of national distinction. Ten days after the building opened on October 19, 1929, the stock market crashed. State support for the university dropped, which meant that Wilson had to raise money for the library through private donations and foundation support. Some of the gifts donated during the Depression created some of the library's most notable collections. The original building was 219 feet long and 140 feet deep. The first addition was added in 1952, with two more in 1976 and 1984. It served as the university's main library until 1984, when Davis Library opened. Today, Wilson Library mainly serves as a special collection library. Its

North Carolina Collection The North Carolina Collection is the largest collection of traditional library materials documenting a single state. It is part of the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The origins o ...

is the largest about a single state in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Collections

*Rare Book Collection - The Rare Book Collections began in 1929 and now contains over 200,000 printed materials, as well as original graphics, medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, and literary and historical papers. *

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary ma ...

- Established in 1930, the Southern Historical Collection documents the American South through its more than 15 million items and 4,600 discrete collections. *

- Created in 1930, the North Carolina Collection is the largest collection in existence documenting a single state. *University Archives - UARMS collects, preserves, and provides access to the records of the University of North Carolina. *

Southern Folklife Collection The Southern Folklife Collection is an archival resource at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating traditional and vernacular music, art, and culture related to the American South. T ...

- The Southern Folklife Collection opened in 1989 and documents vernacular music, art, and culture related to the American South.

References

External links

Wilson Library
{{University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landmarks Libraries in North Carolina Museums in Chapel Hill, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill buildings