06/14/2011

Dacus Library Receives Gift to Help Relocate Louise Pettus Archives

Quick Facts

The $75,000 gift will provide discretionary support for the Archives as they move from Dacus Library to the former Bookworm location at the intersection of Charlotte Avenue and Cherry Road.

The Archives’ new space is nearly three times larger than their current space.

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Gina Price White

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Louise Pettus Archives will receive financial support for their upcoming relocation, thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

The $75,000 gift will provide discretionary support for the Archives as they move from Dacus Library to the former Bookworm location at the intersection of Charlotte Avenue and Cherry Road. The move will be completed by the start of the fall semester.

“We have been feeling somewhat cramped in our library space for the past several years. We are excited about our expanded space and the excellent environmental conditions for our collection’s preservation afforded in the new quarters,” said Gina Price White, director of archives and special collections.

The Archives’ new space is nearly three times larger than their current space. The 20,000 square-foot building will house the Archive’s six million items and enable them to house all their collections together. In addition, the new space will provide opportunities for town and gown collaborations, more development opportunities and more ready access for community patrons.

The Archives are charged with preserving the history of the institution by collecting and caring for university records determined to be of lasting historical importance. The archives houses the manuscript collection containing private papers donated by individuals, includes records from organizations and businesses, and is listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Archives portal.

White added the Archives could not exist without the generous support of donors and the people who share their historical papers and artifacts with the university.

This is the largest gift to the Archives since Louise Pettus, Class of 1946, gave $400,000 to provide the library with support for a lecture series related to collections, graduate students’ stipends, equipment and technology, preservation, professional training and collection development.

For more information on making a gift to Winthrop, contact the Office of Development at 803/323-2150.

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