Gov. Jim Hunt has proclaimed February "First Public University Library Month" to honor Carolina's library, now celebrating its bicentennial.
The campus library began serving students and North Carolina citizens Jan. 15, 1795.
The governor's proclamation commends the University Library's vast resources. The library's 4.3 million volumes "offer the essence of knowledge, past and present, on subjects ranging from the general to the esoteric, from the humanities to the sciences," according to the proclamation. The library's North Carolina and Southern historical collections are cited for their value to researchers, writers and others.
The proclamation praises the library as "the backbone of the University, providing support for the superior education and research of hundreds of thousands of students and faculty over the past 200 years."
It recognizes Carolina's library as a tremendous asset to citizens across the state, nation and globe. New information technology, the proclamation notes, "makes the treasures of the University Library easily accessible to any and all North Carolinians, despite their geographic locale."
In the proclamation, Hunt says it is fitting for the state to salute the library's "tremendous contributions to the citizenry, and commend this priceless repository of information and wisdom to the generations to come."
To the UNC Home Page