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Nick Sulak
Lynn M. Raymond
English 1101
October 15, 2013
Benefits of the J. Murrey Atkins Library
The library here on campus was not always where it is located today nor was it always called the J. Murrey Atkins Library. The library today is located behind the
Burson building from the north and the King building from the south. However, in 1946 when the school was establish as Charlotte College the school shared its library facilities with Central High School. Charlotte College at the time was only a two-year junior college and only had classes at night, which were held in Central High School. Charlotte
College original location is where Central Piedmont Community College is located today.
By December of 1957, Charlotte College had started the process to becoming a four-year institution. The school was then was accredited by the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools. The school’s collection of books was over 6,000. Finally, in 1961
Charlotte College moved to this campus and housed their library in the W.J. Kennedy
Building and had a collection of about 17,000 volumes:
While the initial collection was just a handful of books, the Charlotte
College library kept a record of its purchases and acquisitions through what is known as an Accession Book. As titles were purchased and received by library staff, each was recorded in this book in the order it was received. Thanks to those records, we know that the first volume acquired by the Library was Preface to Philosophy: Book of Readings, by Ross

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Earle Hoople, Raymond Frank Piper and William Pearson Tolley. New
York: Macmillan, 1946 (“History”).
Two years later, Charlotte College became a four-year state institution. The newly appointed Board of Trustee of Charlotte College had their first meeting and elected
J. Murrey Atkins as chairman. The efforts of this man on behalf of the college had finally reached his dream. He brought a school to the metropolitan area. The schools that was once a one year night school in an old high school now was a four-year college and had a brand new campus (“J. Murrey Atkins Library”). In 1963, the site for the library moved westward to the location of the library today, which is approximately the mid point on campus. The library was built for the purpose to house the schools library and in 1964 the library finally opened and Mr. James D. Ramer was appointed the first head librarian (“History”).
On April 11, 1965, the library was named in memory of J. Murrey Atkins, who was the first chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees. J. Murrey along with Bonnie
Cone were visionaries of this school, they both anticipated the rising public demand for and institution of higher learning with in this metropolitan area. Then in July of 1965, the once two-year Charlotte College now officially became the University of North Carolina.
Governor Dan Moore and Charlotte College trustees signed the papers in the newly named J. Murrey Atkins Library. When 1967 came the schools enrollment was expanding very rapidly and the university had to petition for state support to expand the library. By 1971, the support gave the library the ability to build a 10-story tower and they planned on naming it after Harry Lee Dalton. Harry Lee Dalton was a university patron and a book collector. Harry donated a lot of books to enhance the schools already

Sulak3 expanding collection of books. In 1969, the Atkins Library reached a milestone and had acquired their 100,000 th volume, which was donated by Mrs. Mary Myers Dwelle. The book was, The Historie of the World: in five books , by Sir Walter Raleigh (“History”).
Over the next two decades the schools enrollment grew from 5,000 to 15,000 students. Then in 1991, the school’s library reached another milestone of its 500,000 th volume, which was a rare first American Edition of Moby Dick. Mary and Harry Lee
Dalton donated this wonderful book. Today, the university’s library has over 1 million volumes within its collection (“History”).
The Atkins Library here on campus has so much to offer for its students aside from the books and archives. The library has 216 computer stations and 60 laptops to lend out both have the most up to date software on them. Most students that I have surveyed have not taken advantage of the resources available to them at the library. They have maybe copied a page off or scanned something in but not many have used the group study rooms, or the schools catalog to try and find a book. Many students did know however that the library is open twenty-four hours a day from Sunday night to Thursday night and that the library is open twenty-four hours a day everyday during exam week
(“J. Murrey Atkins Library Fact Sheet”).
For the undergraduate students here on campus, the north entrance, which was newly completed in 2012, was designed for collaborative group work. In this new wing there are conference rooms and space for six smaller collaborative work areas, each have a wall monitor that are attached to a laptop, they also have whiteboards and comfortable seating with in the rooms (“Thornton”).

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Some students knew that the library had ten-floors but some did not, but many did not know what was on the tenth floor. In fact, 36% of the freshman surveyed here on
UNC Charlotte campus did not know what was on the tenth floor (“Sulak”). On the tenth floor of the J. Murrey Atkins Library is The Dalton Rare Book and Manuscript Room.
This book room holds 8,500 works of art, including the first American Edition of Moby
Dick. Yet, not many people go up to the tenth floor. Kristy Dixon, head of digital programs and collections said, “We’re not a museum. We’re working, active archives, we don’t want people to come in here and think that they can’t touch things. Everything that’s in here we want people to use (“Thornton”).” The Dalton Rare Book and
Manuscript Room is open to anyone, students, professors, parents and locals. However, there are a few rules, you must leave your belongings at the door, only pencils are allowed in the room and you must also check in. Many should wear a sweater when planning on going to the tenth floor because they keep the room at a chilled 68-72 degrees with 42-52 percent humidity (“Thornton”).
Freshman should know that the J. Murrey Atkins Library has had many changes and a lot of history happen with in those walls. The Atkins Library should be a place for students to go and fulfill their requirements for their classes. The library here on campus has a lot to offer, between the Rare Book room, over one million books, study rooms, designated quiet floors and the ability to take books out for school work or pleasure.
Freshman should not be scared to go this is a wonderful place and it is always open during the week, twenty-four hours a day Sunday through Thursday night. There is also plenty of seating for students and you do not always need to bring your laptop because

they have desktops and laptops available there. The J. Murrey Atkins Library, “It prepares students for success in their studies, and in their lives as global citizens.”
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Works Cited
“History of J. Murrey Atkins.” J. Murrey Atkins Library . UNC Charlotte, n.d. Web. 29
Sept. 2013.
J. Murrey Atkins Library . N.p.: Charlotte College, 1965. Print.
“J. Murrey Atkins Library Fact Sheet.”
J. Murrey Atkins Library . UNC Charlotte, n.d.
Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
Sulak, Nicholas. “J. Murrey Atkins Library.” Survey of 25 UNC Charlotte Freshman
Students 5 Oct. 2013.
Thornton, Lisa. “New Library Entrance, Student Workspaces.”
Charlotte Observer
[Charlotte] 1 Jan. 2012: n. pag. Print.
- - -. “UNCC’s Rare Book Collection Has Treasures the Public Can Enjoy.” Charlotte
Observer [Charlotte] 15 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Print.