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Orange County Public Library
300 W Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (919) 245-2525
Memorandum
Date: April 7, 2009
From: Lucinda Munger, Library Director
To: County Manager's Office and Board of County Commissioners
Update: Oranae County Librarv NC Room /Heritage Center.
In preparation for the move from the Whitted Facility to the W Margaret Lane
Facility, Library Management continues to meet and work with specialists in the
archival and genealogical fields regarding the local history collection.
The initial work plan presented in February addressed staff collaborating with the
archivists, genealogy specialist, curator of the NC Collection at UNC Wilson
Library, contacting the Orange County Historical Museum and Society, and
establishing an inventory of local history collection items that could be housed in
the general reference collection area of the W Margaret Lane facility. Since the
February update, staff has met with the Genealogy Librarian from the State
Library, completed an inventory of holdings, received an appraisal of the
confederate lithograph from Leland Little Auctions and met with the curator of the
NC Collection at UNC Wilson Library.
The genealogy specialist has confirmed the twin goals of 1) Public accessibility to
the collection as well as 2) Best preservation and protection practices for the
long-term sustainability of this unique collection. The specialist agreed that a
choice selection of the local history collection can be housed adjacent to the non-
circulating reference area of the W Margaret Lane facility. The specialist defined
a `core collection' as: histories from local areas and genealogy documents. The
counties that would be represented in the collection would be Orange County's
parent county and those who originated from Orange County. These counties
are: Orange, Caswell, Person, Granville, Alamance, Durham and Chatham. The
specialist commended Orange County for continuing to strive toward open
access to the public, where a researcher can browse the shelves for the
information that they need.
The genealogy specialist suggested steps in paring down the collection such as:
removing duplicates, those items already found in current reference collections,
and removal of items already available through online electronic databases such
as: Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest.
The curator of the NC Collection of the UNC Wilson Library also provided
confirmation on steps thus far regarding the local history collection. The curator
reviewed the materials that were donated and acquired within the collection.
While they were found to be historical in nature, she found no items unique in the
collection. The curator also indicated that the materials found in our local history
collection are also publicly available at the UNC Library and other local libraries.
The library received an appraisal of the Confederate Triad currently on display in
the NC Room from Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales. While being considered
unique, if not rare, it is still considered a "clever novelty" that might have been
commissioned for a gathering of Confederate veterans or for display at an
exposition. They value it at $1,000 based upon today's auction market. A copy
of this appraisal has been provided to Pam Jones for insurance purposes.
Attorney Geoff Gledhill is reviewing the will and bequest of Rebecca Wall to
determine the funding designations and possible use of the funds received and
invested since 1986, and anticipate receiving an opinion by mid-April.
Staff will continue to consult with the specialists to develop a final disposition plan
to bring forward to the Board by the second meeting in May. Please let me or
Gwen Harvey know if you have questions or concerns about the progress being
reported. I am also available for a tour of the facility and in particular the North
Carolina Room and its contents.