Our New Digs

Take a gander at our new arena of activity! As you'll see, we're actually still moving in -- and the building is still getting its finishing touches. But to give you an idea, here are some shots from around the block:

The temporary chaos as you enter our processing space! Staff offices are arranged along the far wall...

Our new processing space with staff and students already hard at work!

A partial view of our new reading room...

Some of our 'knick-knacks'...

Our future exhibit space on the main floor is still a glorified storage closet...but with potential.

We added "art racks" in the stacks on which to store our framed items and other hanging things...


Our pristine stack level sports new electronic mobile shelving....

Joy of Joys!! WE CAN DRINK THE WATER!!

Goodbye, College Street!

Well, looks like the move is complete...sort of. All our collections and office material have been transferred to the Hollings Library, but the certificate of occupancy is still caught up in some red tape. We should be able to do some unpacking in the interim, however.

The warehouse: Awaiting the movers...

As I type, the fantastic library moving guys are waiting for their last truck to arrive to pick up the last of their gear; then they'll be off and away, too.

The warehouse: Debbie through the shelving after the movers finished...

The old warehouse is looking a bit sad. We are leaving our buddies Tim and Don alone here as the microfilming department will be the only active office at the College Street location. There's still storage for the University's records management material and McKissick Museum, but SCPC's shelves are now empty.

We'll be posting pictures of our new digs as we unpack and do some settling in. We think you'll be amazed at the stark difference in the locations. And, oh, how we're looking forward to WINDOWS!

OUR NEW HOME

The Move Has Begun!

Off loading at the new library













There is excitement in the air at SCPC! The hustle and bustle of carts, boxes, and movers can be seen and heard throughout the Pearle warehouse today. As I type, the movers are loading up our filing cabinets right in front of me! Officially, SCPC's move to the Hollings Library commenced yesterday and continues throughout this week. With an expert team from National Library Relocations on site, SCPC and her collections are in good hands as they make their way up to their new home. Having weathered a few minor setbacks and a bit of rain yesterday, skies are clearing and SCPC is ready to move on up!

-Contributed by Debbie Davendonis Todd

Movin' On Up!

We are pleased to report that the move to our new building will begin next week, ahead of schedule! The next couple of weeks will be a bit unpredictable for research queries and visits, but you can try to reach us at 803-777-0578, or email us at SCPC@mailbox.sc.edu.

We will continue to keep the blog updated as we know more about our schedule, and we hope you will visit us once we're settled in our new home.

Hollings Library Update

Herb and I visited SCPC's new home, the Hollings Library, on Wednesday for a little photo shoot. Here's one of the shots from our new stacks. We're standing between rows 52 and 53. We have 75 rows total--we're looking forward to the compact shelving!

Check out SCPC's processing space. This is our main room where staff and students will arrange and describe collections and prepare exhibits and be generally happy at the state of things. Look at the beautiful afternoon light streaming through the windows. (Our current home lacks windows. )

And look...here I am standing in front of my office -- an actual office with a closet and a window and a door and walls.


And finally, this is the south view of the Hollings Library. Under the overhang is the large events room on the main level.

We're all looking forward to May!

The Final Countdown!

March is here (cold and rainy though it may be) and with its arrival comes the realization that we are moving next month! Goodbye sweet Pearle Warehouse; hello brand new, clean, safe Hollings Library.

At the end of April, SCPC will shut down for a few days (specific dates TBA just as soon as we know for sure) and emerge ready for business in the new Hollings Library attached to Thomas Cooper. Check out up-to-date pics of the construction.

Here is our countdown chain (of sorts) to the day we hope the move starts. Rare Books, with whom we'll share the Hollings Library, will go first; we follow them.

In the meantime, we are busily prepping all that we've collected over the years so that the move is as easy as possible. We're labeling, ordering, gathering, inventorying, assessing, and many other "ings."

Here, we've brought together objects that might go on display in the new building...


This means emptier shelves elsewhere like in our reading room...trust me, there used to be a whole lot more on these shelves.


Our paper and AV material is all safely stored away in ordered, labeled, and inventoried boxes, ready to be moved. But, we have a lot of other items that defy placement in mere boxes and tend to spread themselves around the warehouse without telling us! To combat this, we have created "Scrapbookville," "Oversizedfolderland," "Knick-Knack Alley" and "Art Rack Lane" (here, a wall slowly empties, as items move to Art Rack Lane).

Other items resist this level of organization, understandably. A car hood. Massive political signs. Banners. It's a lot to move! But rest assured, it will all get moved safely, and soon you'll be able to visit us and all of our valued material in our new, roomy, temp-controlled, and environmentally-friendly space.

Looking forward to the end of April! Continue to keep those fingers crossed.

2009...A Year In Review

Look what happened at SCPC this year...

Rapid progress in construction of the Hollings Special Collections Library
We should move in April. Cross your fingers! Soon, we will be only a short walk across an enclosed bridge to Thomas Cooper Library, our library colleagues, and potential researchers (in the form of the thousands of undergrad students who inhabit Cooper Library each day)! Check out more pictures.

Processing
For our fine and valued researchers, we put online many new or revised finding aids, including the papers of Lester Bates, Barbara Moxon, Charles Appleby, Robert Hemphill, and Bruce Littlejohn. Counting the collections brought in this year, we are incredibly close to that magic number of 100 collections.

Researchers
We welcomed researchers from far and wide. Along with researchers from our own university and from universities around the Southeast, we had students from England for extended stays and two political scientists from California State University, Channel Islands who were awarded the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Research Award. Of course, we also helped many folks via phone and email.

Student Assistants
We love our student assistants (funded through endowed support), and SCPC would not function well without them. This year, they helped with researchers, research requests, arrangement and description of collections, and many more tasks, always with great attitudes all around. Our students in 2009 were:

*Graduate students Debbie Todd, Gabrielle Dudley, Virginia Blake, Julie Milo, and Allison Hughes. -- We said goodbye to Allison (pictured above with Herb Hartsook, SCPC boss) and Julie (pictured below with Debbie in their workroom) in the summer. They graduated with an MLIS and took positions in Atlanta and Florida, respectively. We get to keep Debbie, Gabby, and Virginia at the start of 2010 as they continue working toward their degrees.

*Undergrad Mai Nguyen graduated in December and is off to do great things like attending law school. Our last undergrad went off to law school, as well. Go pre-law students!

*Graduate intern Katie Thompson of Long Island University received our 2009 Schuyler L. and Yvonne Moore Summer Internship. She spent six weeks here, processing the papers of Mary Kelly, a leading figure in the SC League of Women Voters.

Pictured here in July at Julie and Katie's farewell party, from L-R: Lori, Mai, Katie, Debbie, Julie, and Dorothy

Exhibits
We put up many exhibits in our gallery at Thomas Cooper Library, including:

• A nod to the changing administration in Washington led us to set up an exhibit based on material from the collections of Ambassadors John West and David Wilkins and cabinet officers Jim Edwards and Dick Riley.
• We celebrated the centennial of the NAACP by displaying material from the papers of Modjeska Simkins and I. DeQuincey Newman.
• We enlightened folks about SCPC's Oral History Program.
• We filled a case with memoirs and biographies written by our donors.
• Holiday cards...this year's cards were sent and received by Joe Wilson.

In February, we displayed material from the Fritz Hollings Papers at the SC Book Festival in conjunction with a talk between Jack Bass and Sen. Hollings. It was one of the last of many events promoting Hollings' new book, Making Government Work. Also this year, we digitized 200 documents and audio records from the Hollings Papers and placed them online in "Fritz Hollings: In His Own Words."

Oral History
Oral History helps fill gaps in the documentary record and enriches many research experiences. This year, SCPC completed a major oral history with Jim Edwards, began a project with Joe Wilson, and continued a project with former Butler Derrick staffer John Gregory.

That completes our journey through 2009. Those were merely some of the highlights. On to 2010 and all the progress it will bring!

Progress of our New Home!

Construction of the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library behind Thomas Cooper Library is coming right along, as you can see from the picture above. The Hollings Library will house us (SCPC), Rare Books, and Digital Collections. We are quite excited to leave our dear Pearle Warehouse (with all of its environmental challenges) behind.

The picture looks out over the Hollings Library and to the SE where you can see all the houses nestled east of Pickens St. Notice the walkway on the left of the picture that connects the Hollings Library to Thomas Cooper. Check out many more photos of the progress.

We look forward to moving in next spring. Fingers crossed!

The Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library

Today our future building, now being constructed behind Thomas Cooper Library, was officially named for Senator Fritz Hollings. The Senator's collection, recently opened to researchers, is currently our largest at 860 feet.

The Naming was marked by a reception at

Thomas Cooper at which the Senator made remarks.

Senator Hollings speaking with the press

For the reception we put together this portable

exhibit of classic Hollings photos and ephemera.

And here we are with our student assistants.