Tag Archives: Special Collections

Hunter Library’s Catalog Now Includes Cherokee Syllabary

Hunter Library’s catalogers and systems librarians have added the Cherokee syllabary to the Library Catalog as part of continuing efforts to enhance Cherokee language records for researchers. Check out these examples of books by the Western Carolina University Cherokee Language Program, located in the library’s Special Collections: You can access… Read more »

Keeping Kephart: Special Collection’s New Additions

Photo of Horace Kephart

Upstairs in the Hunter Library, in the Special Collections department, there lies a massive collection of documents written by and to Horace Kephart. While Horace Kephart is unfamiliar to most students on campus, his name is likely known to past Boy Scouts as he famously wrote the definitive guide on… Read more »

30th Anniversary of Library Fire

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Soot from library fire

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Hunter Library fire that started Sunday morning, February 26, 1989. The fire originated in the Media Center, which housed the library’s audiovisual equipment as well as the film, video, and compact disc collections. This area is now the HL 186 library classroom… Read more »

Library Celebrates a Regional Classic

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More than 40 people attended Hunter Library’s free program, “The Legacy of a Mountain Man: True Adventures in the Smokies,” on September 28 to celebrate Special Collections’ reissue of Samuel Hunnicutt’s rare, regional classic, Twenty Years of Hunting and Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains, first published in 1926.   The… Read more »

Ask a Librarian: Did WCU Freshmen Really Have to Wear Beanies?

Special Collections Image

Yes! When WCU was WCC (Western Carolina College), freshmen were given beanies to wear. According to A Mountain Heritage: An Illustrated History of Western Carolina University, this ritual started in “1957 to strengthen school spirit, though freshmen must have wondered at the psychology behind the idea.” Evidence suggests that this… Read more »

Special Collections Renovation Complete

After four months of construction, the renovation of Hunter Library’s Special Collections reading room has been completed. In addition to new carpet, a new ceiling, and new windows, the reading room now features an expanded atrium for exhibits. An open house and Friends of the Library program are being planned… Read more »

Library Creates New WWII Digital Collection

The newest digital collection focuses on World War II materials from Hunter Library’s Special Collections department. Current highlights of the collection come from the Carr and Ruth Hooper collection and the Venoy and Elizabeth Reed collection. Carr Hooper was born in the Cowarts community of Jackson County, North Carolina and… Read more »