Giving to Belk Library

wall of givingMajor Fundraising Initiatives

Endowed Library Funds for Collection Development

Endowed funds make it possible to acquire an abundance of diverse knowledge, and to preserve it for future generations of faculty, students, and community visitors.

You are invited to join the ranks of the Library's best friends by establishing an endowed Library fund for collection development through a direct gift, a bequest, or a trust arrangement. The minimum gift to establish such a fund is $10,000 payable over five years.

Some of the endowed special collections funds in place or proposed which welcome private support include:

  • Appalachian Writers Endowment

    • The W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection has been very successful in attracting the donation of the papers of some of the region's most important scholars. We would also like to become a major repository for the papers of the region's literary figures. Unlike scholars’ papers, writers’ papers are often available for purchase rather than donation. An Appalachian Writers Endowment would enable the University to compete with other institutions and private collectors for these papers.

  • Western North Carolina Small Press and Artists Books Endowment

    • Western North Carolina is experiencing resurgence in the Books Arts.  Led by the Penland School of Craft in Spruce Pine and Bookworks, an artist’s cooperative in Asheville, a number of small letterpress printing companies have been established, while artists are producing one-of-a-kind and limited edition books of great artistic value.  Special Collections would like to actively collect such works that would support teaching in the College of Fine Arts, and exhibitions and instruction in the history of the book.

  • Appalachian Train Collection Endowment

    • The Appalachian Train Collection includes all forms of documentation related to trains and railroads in the Appalachian region. Rare book and manuscript dealers have an immense amount of Appalachian train material on the market, and an Appalachian Train Collection Endowment would allow us to acquire these materials.

  • Children’s Literature Endowment

    • The core holdings of this collection are books once owned by Mary Peacock Douglas, a pioneering figure in the establishment of school libraries in North Carolina. At present, the strength of the collection is early 20th century children's literature. We propose to broaden the focus by collecting 19th century titles and contemporary works, such as award-winning illustrated books. The Library also houses the Beulah Campbell Collection of children's literature illustrations, and desires to offer all books represented in this engaging collection.

  • Stock Car Racing Collection Endowment

    An endowment will provide regular income to enable the purchase of resources that might not otherwise be available for public use. Located in the heart of the region where the sport was born, it is the only collection open to the public that focuses specifically on stock car racing.

  • Early Printed Music Special Collection Endowment

    • The history of printed music involves a wide variety of techniques ranging from individually set blocks of type through copper-plate engraving and lithography.  Appreciating the differences between these various printing processes - as well as the implications they have for creating modern musical editions - is difficult without actual historical examples to examine.

Please contact:

Director of Development
Belk Library and Information Commons
Appalachian State University
218 College Street Boone, NC  28608
(828) 262-7622
or contact us now.