Taking a Look at the Whole System

Logo with a yellow sunburst and the letters UNC ASG in blue and green
University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments Records, Recently Processed!

There has been a lot of talk of late about the system-wide tuition increases at the University of North Carolina. The plan to increase tuition by 15.6 percent over four years at UNC-Chapel Hill and by an average of 8.8 percent at other UNC schools is seen by some as crucial to maintaining the academic standing of the university, and that plan passed in November. The University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments (UNCASG), a system-wide advocacy organization, has been on the front lines of this debate.

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“A Dialogue Between Old and New” and “Knowledge Building(s)”

Two new exhibits featuring University Archives materials are on display in the North Carolina Collection Gallery and the Davis Library Gallery starting this week!

A Dialogue Between Old and New and Knowledge Building(s) Posters

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Library Rules, 1799

Silhouette of the Campus of the University of North Carolina 1814
Silhouette of the Campus of the University of North Carolina 1814

Ever wonder what library rules were like in 1799, soon after the founding of the University of North Carolina library?  In this gem of an entry from the General Faculty and Faculty Council Records, the Board of Trustees write the rules for the library.  Notice that some things never change: reference books remain in the library for the most part, call slips go out with books, and fees are paid for “defaced” books.

The university acquired its first book in 1785: “The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God” by Father Thomas Wilson.  Though it was still eight years before the founding of the first state university, the book was placed in the New Bern Academy for safekeeping until the university opened its doors

The building they are writing about in the 1799 rules is still standing, though it is no longer a library.  The Philanthropic Society Library was housed in Old West, and was one of only a few university buildings.  There is evidence, though, that aside from the well-stocked “society” libraries, the University Library remained in a 9 feet by 12 feet room in the President’s House until 1814!

The library was only open 2-3 hours per day as late as 1885, which put a damper on students camping out during finals.  Librarians, of course, were not SILS educated, but instead members of the Philanthropic Society who volunteered their time as university librarian to watch over the collection, which numbered a few hundred books.

All students paid a fee of $1-2 per semester until the early 1800s, when the university allocated $250 per year to the library.  The library endowment is now well into the millions, and student fees (though most of the fees are not for the library) are thousands of dollars.

Do you want to learn more about the history of the University library buildings?  This is just a preview for the University Buildings exhibits, coming this spring to a library near you!  The exhibit on the library buildings will be up in Davis Library March 1-May 31.  See the full list of library rules after the jump!

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Electrifying the UNC Campus

Though electricity now seems to pump endlessly and uninterrupted through the university system and hospitals, the role that Energy Services at the University of North Carolina has played over the past forty years has changed significantly.  From approximately 1895 to 1976, Energy Services at UNC was the sole provider of electricity to the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.  In 1977 with the sale of their resources to Duke Power (now Duke Energy), the University’s Energy Services focused their attention on only the campus.

It seems strange to think of the University functioning without electricity, but it did for over one hundred years, until a Physics professor named Joshua Gore took steps to electrifying the town for what he claimed were safety reasons.  Here in the University Archives, we just processed the records of the Department of Energy Services.  The records primarily focus on 1977 to 2000, but one can also find maps and drawings dating from the 1930s and 1940s.  The records detail some incredibly interesting pieces of information—how did the university modernize for the year 2000?  How did energy services check for PCBs after the controversies of the 1980s?  What really happens behind the scenes every time you turn on a light switch on campus?

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Speaking Bans and Speaking-Out

Image courtesy of the Daily Tar Heel

As a graduate student, I feel a bit removed from student organizations, but yesterday I talked with some students with a banner and a loud boombox right outside of Wilson Library entreating the University to “Occupy UNC.”

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