National Library Week

This National Library Week, take some time to appreciate the people who help make libraries such a special place: librarians! Today we'll highlight a famous local librarian: Louis Round Wilson. Literary Map fans who live in Chapel Hill might have heard his name before, seeing as Wilson Library on UNC Chapel Hill's campus was named in his honor.

Wilson was born in Lenoir, North Carolina in 1876. He was raised by two teachers, and was one day expected to choose it as his profession. While he did go on to work as a professor at various points in his life, librarianship was his true calling. In 1901, he was hired as a librarian at UNC, where he pursued his master's degree in English and was later awarded a PhD. He was offered the chance to move on from his position in 1906, but declined the chance in order to remain dedicated to improving UNC's collections.

He was a firm believer in the value of libraries, eventually helping found the North Carolina Library Association in 1904, which improved the situation of libraries throughout the state. Wilson was an influential member of the Southeastern Library Association, and served as its president from 1924 to 1926.

During this period he pushed for the construction of a new library on UNC's campus, as the then-current one could not support its students' needs. In 1929, the library was finished mere days before the stock market crash. Despite the obvious struggles it faced in the years to come, it survived and even expanded its collection through the crisis via financial donations. For some time, this library went nameless, only referred to as "the library" until 1956, when it was renamed in honor of Wilson, its first librarian. Today it serves as the home of UNC's special collections and archives.

Wilson's accomplishments were so numerous that it is difficult summarizing them in one short blog post, which speaks to how important he was to librarianship in North Carolina. He served as the first dean of UNC's Library Science school, and continued to work in libraries until his retirement. You can read a complete summary of Louis Round Wilson's work at the NC Literary Map. If you're interested in learning more about the man himself, his papers can be found at Wilson Library.

The next time you visit your library, keep in mind Wilson's lifelong dedication to North Carolina libraries, and thank your local librarian!

NCPedia