Books in Tolerable Supply: College Libraries in North Carolina from 1795 to the Civil War

Abstract

The historical role of college libraries has seldom been investigated on a regional or state level in the United States, but such studies are valuable in explaining the cultural infrastructure of education and print culture. State and regional studies also set the context for future research on individual libraries and colleges as well as histories on a larger level. This work examines how college libraries developed in North Carolina from 1800 to 1860 and illustrates the growth and ambience of education and print culture during a formative period of the antebellum South.