About the Library

History

The G.R. Little Library is an air-conditioned 2-story building, erected 1966 to replace the 1939 structure which the collections had outgrown. It is named for George Roscoe Little, Sr. (1873-1954), former Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Renovations of the 1966 structure were completed in 1978 (a larger 2-story stack area added), with additional renovations in 1982, 1988, and 2019-2020. 

Facilities

Besides stacks and circulation/reading areas, it contains study areas, offices and work spaces, display areas, and a 140-seat auditorium added in 1967. It has facilities to provide local CATV programming. With an elevator, the building is completely accessible to the handicapped; there are also provisions for the handicapped. A separate area contains documents of the University Archives, protected by a fire suppression system. On November 21, 2002, a computer lab in the library was dedicated to the memory of the longtime former librarian, Dr. Claude Willis Green (1938 - 2001). A separate music library branch is located on the second floor of the Burnim Fine Arts building, and contains music-related books, sound and video recordings, and music scores, along with computers and audiovisual equipment.

Collection

The library holds a physical collection in excess of 120,000 monographs, bound journals, and other printed materials. In addition, the library contains the University Archvies, a children's literature collction, and a vintage literature collection. The library also provides 24/7 access to an extensive online collection of over 200,000 eBooks, over 50,000 eJournals, and more than 200 online research databases. The dedicated librarians at the G.R. Little Library continually add to and refine the library collection in order to best meet the information needs of ECSU students, faculty, staff, and and the local community.