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.
Chimera Con program covers (composite), in the Chimera Fantasy and Science Fiction Club of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records #40310-z, University Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A major initiative started last fall by the University Archives and Records Management Services, in partnership with Wilson Library’s Technical Services department, is to make accessible some of the records hidden away in our unprocessed backlog. While still an ongoing effort, the first fruits of that labor have now seen the light of day, and can be paged in the 4th Floor Reading Room of Wilson Special Collections Library. Full details after the jump.
UNIVAC 1105 in the Carolina Computation Center, Phillips Hall in the Academic Technology and Networks of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records #40224, University Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A new University Archives collection is available as of last week. Academic Technology and Networks (ATN), a predecessor of Information Technology Services (ITS), includes many of the files of Judith Hallman, who worked for the university in a number of technological capacities before her retirement and whose contributions to the development of computing on campus will be felt for years to come.
Among the fresh crop of collections now open for research are a few which display two of UNC’s most publicly visible institutions, radio station WUNC and television station UNC-TV. Their records provide a glimpse into the inner functionings of these stations, those parts that aren’t broadcast from Chapel Hill to Manteo.
Charles Kuralt (left) and Kent Jackson (right) doing a radio dramatization during the dedication ceremonies for WUNC Radio, in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photographic Laboratory Collection #P0031, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Below is a list of new and revised finding aids to collections held in the University Archives. These finding aids include a brief description of the contents of the collection, historical information about the department from which the records originated, and a container listing of the collection’s contents. For questions about these collections, please contact Wilson Special Collections Library at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
Chapel Hill’s first sit-in took place at Colonial Drugstore (now, West End Wine Bar) on February 28, 1960, led by students from the all-black Lincoln High School. If you haven’t already, check out Wilson Library’s online exhibit from 2007, “I Raised My Hand to Volunteer,” where you’ll find this and other gems:
(March 1960: Leaflet, "Wanted: Picketers". Records of the Office of Chancellor - William B. Aycock Series (#40020), University Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
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!
As part of the digitization of the Joseph Lawrence Dusenbery’s journal for “Verses and Fragments: The James L. Dusenbery Journal (1841-1842)“, a few selected documents from the records of the Dialectic Society held in the University Archives have also been digitized.
These documents include an address to the Dialectic Society by his brother, Edwin Lafayette Dusenbery, in 1845, and the Dialectic Society Library Circulation Records of Joseph, and two other brothers, Henry Mcrorie and William Brevard.
Dusenbery’s journal is the “heart” of this online resource. Kept by him during his senior year, the journal is an amazing resource for those interested in student life at UNC in 1841 and 1842.
