USC Gives Sneak Peek At Hollings Library

The University of South Carolina gave the media a sneak peak at the new Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library Wednesday. It will be officially dedicated July 23, with Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

The library houses the South Carolina Political Collections, the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and the university's Digital Collections in a new 50,000 square foot building that's behind, and connected to, the Thomas Cooper library on campus.

Hollings donated his personal papers to the university in 1989, but the Political Collections section has the papers from a total of 11 governors, more than 20 members of Congress and numerous state leaders. Hollings served as governor from 1959 to 1963, then served in the U.S. Senate for 38 years, retiring in 2005.

The political papers and memorabilia, including banners, signs and buttons, had been housed in a warehouse. Dean of Libraries Tom McNally says, "They've been untouched. I mean, we've had them. Very few people have used them. And now that they're here I think the students and faculty are going to come in droves."

Hollings secured $14 million in federal funds for the building, which cost a total of $18 million. The rest was paid for with private donations.

Besides the political collection, the new library has an extensive collection of rare books, maps and Audubon prints. The rare books include a first edition King James Bible and another Bible that was hand-written in 1252.

McNally says, "Wanna see the copy of The Great Gatsby that F. Scott Fitzgerald inscribed to Ernest Hemingway? I'll put it in your hands, let you hold it, with the original dustcover in perfect condition. You put that out on the market, what would someone pay for that? $100,000? $200,000? I mean these things are priceless."

Some of what's in the collection will also be available for students and researchers across the state to access online. The library has already digitized more than 60,000 images and put them online. You can find them here and here.

Kate Foster Boyd, Digital Collections Librarian, says, "The Rare Books and Special Collections are limited by staff, so they do have to close, sometimes at 4:30 and things like that. So now you can sit more and more in your own home or your own office and study a manuscript and really kind of spend a little more time with it than you might be able to in the actual manuscript room."

The library is also working with the state Department of Education so teachers can use in their classrooms digitized items from the library, like maps, photos and old manuscripts.