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| North Carolina State Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | North Carolina State Library |
| Established | 1909 |
| Location | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Director | Patricia L. Tippett |
| Parent organization | North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources |
North Carolina State Library
The North Carolina State Library is the state library agency of North Carolina located in Raleigh, serving public, academic, and special library communities across the state. It administers statewide library programs, supports local public libraries, manages historical and legal collections, and oversees statewide library development initiatives. The agency operates under state statute and coordinates with state and federal institutions to expand access to information and cultural resources.
The agency traces its origins to early 20th-century initiatives tied to the Progressive Era and state modernization efforts that also involved figures associated with the North Carolina General Assembly, Governor Charles B. Aycock, and statewide reform movements. Throughout the 20th century the institution interacted with the Works Progress Administration, the Library of Congress, and the American Library Association to professionalize services and expand collections. During the civil rights era the library responded to directives from the North Carolina State Board of Education and federal programs administered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 framework to broaden access. Later collaborations involved the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and initiatives led by the Library Services and Technology Act. Recent decades saw organizational alignment with the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and administrative leadership connected to governors such as Jim Hunt and Pat McCrory.
The agency’s mission aligns with mandates from the North Carolina General Statutes, oversight by the State Library Commission, and executive direction from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (North Carolina). Governance structures include appointed boards and advisory councils that interface with entities like the North Carolina State Archives, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and statewide consortia. Leadership appointments have involved prominent state officials including secretaries of cultural resources such as Susan Kluttz and coordination with legislative committees in the North Carolina General Assembly. Its statutory responsibilities reference cooperation with federal counterparts including the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The library maintains diverse collections encompassing state government publications, historical newspapers, maps, and special collections related to figures like Andrew Jackson in regional context, and materials tied to events such as the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898. It provides interlibrary loan frameworks that link to networks including the Online Computer Library Center and statewide integrated library systems used by institutions like Durham County Library, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, and the Wake County Public Libraries. Services include reference and research support for the North Carolina Supreme Court, legislative researchers in the North Carolina General Assembly, educators from the University of North Carolina system, and historians associated with the North Carolina Historical Society and the Southern Historical Collection. The library supports access to government documents from agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Headquartered in Raleigh, the library’s facilities coordinate with nearby institutions including the North Carolina State Capitol, the North Carolina Museum of History, and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Storage and conservation spaces collaborate with the North Carolina State Archives and repositories at campus libraries like the Duke University Libraries and the East Carolina University Libraries. Regional service centers and outreach points partner with county systems in locales such as Asheville, Wilmington, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Winston-Salem. Preservation labs and reading rooms serve scholars associated with programs at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science.
The agency administers statewide initiatives including summer reading programs adopted by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and rural library support modeled with Mountain Regional Library System. It manages continuing education for librarians in cooperation with the American Library Association and hosts workshops aligned with federal grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Outreach encompasses partnerships with cultural institutions like the North Carolina Symphony, literacy efforts with Reading Partners, and workforce programs tied to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Emergency response planning includes coordination with the North Carolina Emergency Management and preservation assistance following disasters similar to responses coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Digital programs include state digitization efforts for newspapers, maps, and government documents connected to platforms such as the Digital Public Library of America and collaborations with the HathiTrust Digital Library. Preservation strategies employ standards from the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program and partnerships with academic digitization units at North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The agency supports statewide discovery through integrated catalogs, digitized archival collections used by researchers working on projects related to the Great Migration (African American) and regional studies of the Research Triangle Park.
Funding streams combine state appropriations from the North Carolina General Assembly, federal grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and private philanthropy involving foundations such as the Kresge Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The library partners with municipal systems including Raleigh Public Library and statewide consortia like the Statewide Digital Library Consortium to leverage resources. Cooperative ventures include archival projects with the Southern Historical Collection and educational programming with the UNC School of Government.
Category:Libraries in North Carolina