The Great Depression and Its Impact on an Emerging Research Library: The University of North Carolina Library, 1929-1941

Abstract

After World War I, the library of the University of North Carolina developed into a research library serving a modern university. The dedication of a new library building in October 1929 celebrated this transformation, but the stock market crash and the Depression that followed inhibited further growth. State support plummeted, and the library struggled to build collections and provide services. This essay examines the factors that prevented the library from experiencing a more devastating decline: support from foundations and individuals, federal aid, staff initiative, and the utility and symbolic value of the new library building.