National Library Week may be over, but it’s never a bad time to appreciate our library. At UNCW Library, librarians and library workers have been providing services to students, faculty, staff, and community members for over 70 years. A great deal of change and growth occurred in the past few decades. Why not take a look back?

Wilmington College, the predecessor of UNC Wilmington, spent its earliest years sharing class space at New Hanover County High School on Market Street. In 1961, the college moved to a new campus on College Road, where just three buildings accommodated the school’s faculty, staff, and students. One of those structures, the Administrative Building, housed both the administrative offices and the library. In 1965, the North Carolina General Assembly approved funding for Wilmington College’s first stand-alone library. After years of sharing limited space, the library had room to grow. The library was completed in 1969 and named William Madison Randall Library after the school’s third president. More importantly (to us library workers, at least), Randall was also a trained librarian.

In 1987, additional construction on Randall Library was finished, adding more space for seating, employee areas, and—of course—books. The 1980s also saw the creation of computerized cataloging. In Randall and in other libraries across the country, the long-lasting card catalog was slowly replaced. Materials in our archive capture just how important the card catalog was to everyday operations in the library; a Randall Library guide from the 1970s called it “in many ways…the most important tool in the Library” (pg. 8).

Smatterings of growth occurred from the 1990s to the present day, including the opening of the Technology Assistance Center in 2008 and the creation of new annual traditions like the African American Read-In, the FlashLIT writing contest, and the much-loved 48 Hour Film Competition. Significant change arrived in 2022 when construction began on a library expansion and renovation project. With the project’s completion in 2024, Randall Library became Randall Hall, while the new structure connected to Randall’s western side was dubbed Discovery Hall. Together, the two buildings—and the employees, services, technology, and resources they hold—make up today’s UNCW Library. 

To learn more about the history of UNCW Library, view our Digital Collections records, which include textual materials and photographs concerning Randall Library. You can also visit our digital exhibit all about library history. It includes floor plans, a helpful timeline, and even more photographs!