History of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Library

The paper in this collection written by William F. Mears, “A Brief History of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Library and its Predecessors” chronicles the history of the university’s library beginning with the opening of the school in 1912. Mears begins by discussing the first funds appropriated to the University for Purchasing Books for the library, and then discusses some of the library’s early accessions obtained from those funds. The paper also contains information about the first individuals employed during the early years of the library’s opening. Some of these individuals include Mr. J.N. McMillin an English professor who ran the library when it first opened, Mrs. Pearl Travis who was the college’s librarian for thirteen years, W.F. Bond, and Miss Maggie D. Campbell to name a few. The paper also includes images of the early layout plans for the library. Mears also briefly discusses some of the early collections acquired by special collections during the library’s inception. Information on university archives is provided as well as information on collections such as, The Theodore Bilbo Collection, The William M. Colmer Collection, The Lena Y. De Grummond Collection, The Mississippi Collection, Mississippi State Documents, The Southern Literature Collection, The Earnest A. Walen Collection and The Sam Woods Collection. William Mears’ paper would be helpful to any researcher interested in the early founding of the University of Southern Mississippi’s library.