Alumni Revisit D. H. Hill Library at 2018 Forever Club Reunion

Earlier this month, the Special Collections team joined forces with colleagues from across the Libraries to welcome Forever Club Alumni from the Class of 1968 and earlier to D. H. Hill Jr. Library.  As part of the reunion weekend, alumni visited D. H. Hill Jr. Library, a building that has changed dramatically since the class of 1968 were students.  What was the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union during the 1960s is now the West Wing of D. H. Hill Library, and the current book towers that join the original D. H. Hill Library (now the East Wing of D. H. Hill Jr.) did not exist until the 1970s. Another major change from the landscape the alumni remembered is that Harrelson Hall, the infamous round classroom building across the Brickyard, no longer exists today.

As part of their visit to D. H. Hill Jr., alumni browsed a show and tell of materials from the University Archives that sparked memories of their time as students. Agromeck yearbooks, Technician newspapers, athletics programs, photographs of notable events (including the Pullen Hall dormitory fire of 1965), brochures for prospective students, and many other items documenting their years at NC State were on display for alumni to explore and discuss with Special Collections staff members Gwynn Thayer, Todd Kosmerick, and Cathy Dorin-Black.  

University Archivist Todd Kosmerick with materials from the University Archives.

Reading the 1960 NC State Women's Handbook (UA 050.001, Box 3).

Viewing materials from the archives led many alumni to share stories of their time as students, and several recorded their memories at a Wolf Tales recording station led by Special Collections Outreach Librarian Virginia Ferris and Videographer Kathryn Rende. Joyce Smith ('68) shared her memories of being among the small but growing female student population at NC State in the 1960s, when women students were required to sign in and out of their dormitories and dress code regulations required them to wear skirts or dresses, no shorts or pants, outside of the residence halls (learn more in the NC State Women's Handbooks located in UA 050.001, Box 3).

Special Collections Outreach Librarian Virginia Ferris invites alumni to participate in the Wolf Tales video oral history program.

In addition to revisiting their memories of life at NC State and D. H. Hill Jr. Library in the 1960s, alumni explored some of the new spaces and technologies offered in the Libraries today, including the Virtual Reality Studio, where they experienced the "I Am a Man" VR Civil Rights App with NCSU Libraries Fellow Pete Schreiner and College of Design student Shadrick Addy.  Alumni also visited the Exhibit Gallery for guided tours of the current exhibit, "An Engineer's Eye: The Architectural Photography of Gordon Schenck," with Exhibits Program Librarian Molly Renda.  

NCSU College of Design student Shadrick Addy describes the "I Am A Man" Civil Rights VR App in the VR Studio.

Exhibits Program Librarian Molly Renda gives a tour of a current exhibit of architectural photography by alumnus Gordon Schenck ('50).

Throughout their visit, Outreach and Public Programming Librarian Marian Fragola, Friends of the Library Development Officer Tory Gibler, and University Program Associate Allison Hughes engaged with alumni to share the innovative spaces, technologies, and programming that the NCSU Libraries offer today, and that alumni can access through the Friends of the Library program.

Friends of the Library Development Officer Tory Gibler shares the programming and benefits available to alumni through the FOL program.

All in all, it was a busy and exciting afternoon reflecting on the changes that have occurred on the NC State campus and in the NCSU Libraries since the Class of 1968 graduated 50 years ago. We look forward to continuing to learn from and share our campus history with this generation and future generations of alumni.