Joyner Library

An early drawing of East Carolina Teachers Training School includes a freestanding, two-story brick library facing Fifth Street on the west end of campus. Next to the label, “LIBRARY,” is a parenthetical note, “To be erected.” Despite such grand plans, the library was actually housed in the Administration Building (later, Austin) during the Training School era. In the summer of 1924, following East Carolina’s transition to a teachers’ college, the dream of a freestanding library was realized with an impressive new building simply called “the Library” (later, Whichard Building), located on the east end of campus, next to the Social and Religious Building (later Wright Building).

Helen Grant Gray served as librarian from 1923 to 1935, a period of marked growth in library holdings. During her tenure, the student newspaper, The Teco Echo, reported in its December 8, 1927 issue that the building housing the library was “Joyner Building,” named after Dr. James Yadkin Joyner, state superintendent of public instruction from 1902-1919, and first chair of the ECTTS Board of Trustees. Appointed by Governor Charles B. Aycock, Joyner presided over the establishment of the state’s high school system, its system of compulsory education, teacher certification, and myriad schools and libraries. The public school system was also racially segregated according to Jim Crow “separate but equal” standards then prevalent. Although the building was reportedly named after Joyner, it is not clear that the library took that name as well. Joyner’s name was not affixed to the building. The naming had been done without apparent fanfare or ceremony.

By 1941, with approximately 40,000 volumes, the library needed more space. Wendell W. Smiley, head librarian from 1943-1973, a period of unprecedented growth for the library, repeatedly called for a new facility. In 1947, the state legislature allocated $450,000 dollars for the project, but the ongoing postwar boom ultimately necessitated a more extensive $900,000 structure completed in the summer of 1954.

The new 150,000-volume library was the most impressive structure on campus. Reflecting its monumental scale, the dedication ceremony was the grandest in East Carolina history at that time. Dedicated on March 8, 1955, Founder’s Day at East Carolina, the new building and the library were, with great ceremony, named after James Yadkin Joyner who had passed away the year before. A portrait of Joyner, given to the college by Joyner’s son, Col. W. T. Joyner, was presented. Members of the state legislature were guests of honor. Greenville mayor, W. L. Whedbee, and ECC president, John D. Messick, had welcomed the state legislators to town and escorted them to campus. Lawrence Q. Mumford, librarian of Congress and a Pitt County native, was the guest speaker. Reportedly, 2,000 ECC students attended the ceremony. The same day, another building, Erwin Hall, named in honor of Dr. Clyde Atkinson Erwin, also state superintendent of public education and chair of the East Carolina Board of Trustees, was dedicated. Erwin had passed away July 20, 1952.

The same year, it should be noted, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated “separate but equal” public facilities such as the school system Joyner established and Erwin presided over were unconstitutional. The grand public reaffirmation of Joyner’s legacy might well be interpreted as an early expression of local reluctance vis-à-vis imminent social changes that would flow from the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” ruling. However, the eventual readiness of the state and campus to diversify also stands as an updated expression of the progressive legacy that Joyner and Erwin had, within the limits of their times, earlier advanced.

East Carolina’s growth continued to outpace its library facilities in the 1960s, leading to successive renovations and expansions. The Manuscript Collection was established in 1965 to bolster the library’s research holdings. A west wing was constructed in 1973 to house oversized materials and added additional study spaces for students. In 1974, the Dewey Decimal system was converted to the Library of Congress system of classification. With the information revolution of the late twentieth century, the library converted its card catalog to computer-based online listings. It also began adding electronic editions of books, journals, and research data bases, as well as digitizing existing collections giving patrons worldwide access to the library’s holdings via the internet. Extensive renovations between 1994 and 1999 expanded the library’s capacity to 1.5 million volumes. Iconic features of the modern structure such as the Clock Tower, Sonic Plaza, and the four-story Drum on the western extreme of the building were added. While some of the old building was razed, the iconic front columns were salvaged and incorporated into the new configuration, making Joyner Library one of the most traditional and yet innovative facilities on campus.

Today, Joyner houses over two million print volumes, one million e-books, and one hundred thousand academic journals. It provides a variety of study and learning spaces for the student body as well as galleries and exhibits to highlight student and faculty achievements in the arts. The library also houses numerous computers with internet access open for student use. With its continually expanding North Carolina Collection, Manuscript and Rare Books Collection, and University Archives, Joyner Library is the premier research library in eastern North Carolina.

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Sources

• Bratton, Mary Jo Jackson. East Carolina: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
• “Buildings on Campus Receive Names.” Teco Echo. December 8, 1927. Vol. 3, no. 5. P. 6
• “Drawing of East Carolina Teachers Training School.” 1909. University Archives # 55.01.0710. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C.
• “Dr. Clyde Erwin, Famed School Leader, Is Stricken Suddenly.” Rocky Mount Telegram. July 19, 1952. P. 1.
• Ferrell, Henry C., Jr, ed. Promises Kept: East Carolina University, 1980-2007. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University, 2006.
• “Founders Day Observed by ECC Today. The Daily Independent (Kannapolis, North Carolina). March 8, 1955. P. 4.
• “Joyner Library Dedicated.” Rocky Mount Telegram. February 2, 1955. P. 13.
• “Joyner Library Fact Sheet.” August 12, 2014. http://media.lib.ecu.edu/development/dcwjoynerfactsheet.pdf.
• “N.C. Leaders Pay Tribute to Joyner.” Asheville Citizen-Times. January 26, 1954. P. 4.
• “NC Solons Attend ECC Dedication.” The Robesonian. March 9, 1955. P. 1.
• Records of the Board of Trustees. UA01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

 

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Built

1954

Construction cost

84,641

Gross sq. ft.

66,347

Architects

Eric G. Flannagan, Henderson, NC [original building]

Namesake

James Yadkin Joyner (1862-1954), a North Carolina native, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1881 with a Ph.B. degree (bachelor of philosophy) at age 19, the youngest member of the class. He taught at Winston Graded Schools (1884-1885) and served as superintendent at Goldsboro Graded Schools (1889-1893). During the intervening period, he studied at Greensboro Law School (1885-1886) and practiced law in the firm of Faircloth, Allen, and Joyner (1886-1889), in Goldsboro. In 1902 Governor Charles Brantley Aycock appointed Joyner superintendent of public instruction. Joyner held his position until 1919. During his term, he instituted many reforms in the state's system of public education. He was also the first ex-officio chairman of the ECTTS Board of Trustees (1907-1918) and later a member of the board (1922-1925).
Joyner also served as superintendent of the Lenoir County schools, chairman of the board of education of Wayne County schools, head of the English department of the State Normal and Industrial School for Women in Greensboro, member of board of directors at Meredith College and the University of North Carolina, and the first southerner elected president of the National Education Association.

In 1890, in a request for funds for the Goldsboro Graded School library, Joyner wrote:

Good books are great store-houses of educational material.

The child or the teacher who undertakes the work of education without access to these great store-houses must labor under great disadvantages. He may have his tools but, as Carlyle says of Burns, "He must discover his material where no eye before has seen it. "Teach a child to read, and then cultivate his taste for good literature by placing good books in his way and getting him to taste of them, and what a wonderful power you place in that child's grasp. You open to him the avenues to all knowledge. You give him the power to commune with all the great minds and all the great souls of the ages. Who can measure the influence of such companions upon the child's life and character!

For more information see the following titles in the Joyner Library Catalog: Manuscript Collection #345, James Yadkin Joyner Papers, Special Collections
Books by J.Y. Joyner
Books about J.Y. Joyner

History

From the beginning of East Carolina Teachers Training School, the library was located in the original Austin Building, and then moved to Whichard for the period October 1924 to March 1954.
A notice in the East Carolina Teachers College News Vol. I, No. 2, November 5, 1923 mentions that:

the Library Building has been staked off and will soon be under way. The building will be well equipped and up-to-date for library service.

Opening day, October 15, 1924 is described in the October 27, 1924 issue of the East Carolina Teachers College News.

The east wing of Joyner was built from 1952-1955 and was dedicated on Founder's Day, March 8, 1955. This wing was an L-shaped building, 268 feet across the front, with a central four columned portico. It had a 230,000 volume capacity including the microfilm material. The next year a 136 foot radio tower was erected.

The 1964 addition included the air conditioning and divided the reading room into two floors. In 1966, the second addition added 15,000 square feet of floor space to the east wing stacks.

Two extra floors were added to the existing two at a cost of $736,251. The west wing was added in 1973. The connecting area between the east and west wings contained the circulation desk and catalogues. The west wing housed large stack areas and study space for students. The construction added 91,492 gross square feet with 70,084 assignable square feet of space to the library.

In 1974 it was decided to stop using the Dewey Decimal Classification to catalog most materials. A re-cataloging project was begun to convert the catalog to the Library of Congress Classification. Dewey is still used in to catalog materials in the Teaching Resources Department. The 1980's and early '90's saw the transition from traditional card catalogs to on-line searching. LS2000 was the first on-line catalog installed ca. 1986. Patrons used dumb terminals to search for books. By 1993 patrons were using Marquis which was renamed Horizon one year later. 1994 saw the completion of the re-cataloging, the card catalog was no longer being produced and was removed from the public area.

A three phase, $30.3 million renovation and construction project was carried out between 1994 and 1999 which increased the net square footage of the library by 49 percent. Seventeen miles of additional shelving were erected enabling the library to expand holdings to 1.5 million volumes. Other additions incorporated in the renovation and construction include: 250 computer workstations for public use that access library and Internet resources
100 graduate student study carrels
75 faculty study carrels
36 group study rooms
Sonic Plaza Several departments were moved to the new addition, including Cataloging, Interlibrary Loan Services, North Carolina Collection, Special Collections and the University Archives. The building was rededicated Founder's Day, March 8, 1999.

Additions

1956 – Radio Tower
1964 – Edwards, McGee & Scovil, Raleigh, NC, Additions & Renovations
1966 – Edwards, McGee & Scovil, Raleigh, NC, 2nd Addition
1973/74 – West Wing added, $3.2 million
1994-1999 – 3 Phase Construction & Renovation Project $30.3 million by Walter, Robbs, Callahan & Pierce
1991-1998 – construction of the Sonic Plaza, $110,000, designed by Christopher Janney
2001 – Naming and dedication ceremony for the Langford-Joyner Clock Tower and the Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection held on Founders Day.

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