Introduction
UNCW Library’s Special Collections unit is housed within the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History, located on the second floor of Discovery Hall. Special Collections focuses on collecting cultural and historical materials pertaining to the eight-county region known as southeast North Carolina (SENC), including Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, and Sampson counties. The Center is also home to federal and state government resources and records documenting the history of the University.
When thinking about archival materials, what comes to mind first is most likely old things – whether that’s rare books or letters and deeds from generations past – and it is true, we do collect those items; however, our collections especially reflect the contemporary growth of the SENC region during the 20th and 21st centuries. They trace economic development, environmental concerns and coastal area management, and politics at all levels of government, as well as the cultural output that uniquely defines the Cape Fear area. Special Collections staff curate, process, describe, and provide access to a wide variety of materials falling into two primary categories – Rare Books and Manuscripts Collections.
Rare Books
There are four primary collections of published materials held in Special Collections.
The Southeast North Carolina Collection consists of books and other published items pertaining to our eight-county region. From church histories and broadsides to county records and scientific reports, this collection contains a wide variety of rare and unique items that document all historical aspects of this region.
The Local Authors Collection contains the creative output of SENC writers, including works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more. You might recognize names such as Clyde Edgerton, Philip Gerard, and Nina de Gramont.
Special Collections also collects locally published magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and other similar publications – a group of materials that libraries collectively call periodicals. This collection includes out-of-print titles such as Encore and Life Around Wilmington, as well as active titles, including current regional newspapers. The unit collaborates with the Library’s Digital Initiatives team and state and local partners to digitize and make available newspapers such as Carolina Beach’s Island Gazette and Columbus County’s News Reporter.
Finally, the Special Books Collection contains publications that meet one or more of the following criteria: items pertaining to North Carolina history, items published before 1850, and rare items owned by less than 50 libraries. An additional (and very neat!) sub-collection within Special Books is a collection of miniature books measuring less than 5 inches by width or height.
Pictured here is a selection of rare books ranging in size from Mark Catesby’s 23-inch folio, Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, to the miniature book, Lute & Lyre and Other Musical Instruments of the 6th Century A.D., a generous 1 inch in height.
Manuscripts and Archives
Manuscript collections differentiate the Center’s Special Collections unit from other libraries and archival repositories due to their inherently unique character; manuscript collections reflect their creators and owners and often contain materials that were not kept or organized by anyone else. As mentioned previously, the Special Collections unit collects and documents the cultural and historical output of the SENC region. Our collecting scope includes subjects such as the arts, business, development, education, environmental history, faculty research, local history, politics, religion, and war and military history. Researchers can discover physical items such as diaries, letters, and photographs, as well as digital items including electronic documents, audiovisual content, and more.
The Center's collections document the lives and careers of individuals such as Dr. Hubert Eaton, Sr., and Hannah Block, the operations of organizations such as the local USO chapter and the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and events such as the USS North Carolina battleship homecoming and the Southport 4th of July Festival.
Items pictured include a letter from James R. Womble to his father describing the fall of Fort Fisher during the Civil War; a button Wilmington citizens wore while advocating for funding for a new bridge over the Cape Fear River during the 1950s and prior to the construction of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge; and marines stationed at Camp Lejeune during the 1960s enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Access and Research
All of the materials mentioned here and more are available to be explored by researchers near and far. Visit the Center’s website to learn more about finding materials, planning a visit, or requesting research assistance.