James H. Thomason Library

Archives and Special Collections

Nancy Griffith, Archives & Special Collections Librarian
E-mail: ngriffit@presby.edu
Phone: 864-833-8525

Sarah Leckie, Archives & Special Collections Assistant
E-mail: smpaulk@presby.edu
Phone: 864-833-8311
Fax: 864-833-8575

Hours:

          Monday-Thursday:  9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

    Friday:                  9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.; 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

The Archives & Special Collections area of the Thomason Library is located on the second floor in the Russell-Arnold addition. The collection is roughly divided into two major components -- the Presbyterian College Archives, which documents the history of PC and the individuals and other institutions associated with it, and special collections dealing with the history of South Carolina and Presbyterianism.

Archives

The Presbyterian College Archives contains papers, publications, photographs, and other materials which document the history, organization and development of Presbyterian College. Because of the College's close ties with the Presbyterian Church and with Thornwell Orphanage, the collection also includes materials on these institutions.

Special Collections

The Library's special collections contain a large number of fragile materials dealing with Southern history, religion and culture, including the Jones South Carolina Collection and the Smyth Collection. The Jones Collection was nurtured by late PC professor Frank Dudley Jones (1874-1946), and continued by his daughter, Louise Jones DuBose. It was later supplemented by materials donated by J. Isaac Copeland, former curator of the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Smyth Collection was the gift of Ellison Adger Smyth, president of the Pelzer Mills in Anderson, and the son of Rev. Thomas Smyth, who was the longtime pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston. The Special Collections area also contains a collection of rare pamphlets dealing with numerous aspects of antebelleum Southern culture. Items in these collections are listed in THOMCAT, the Library's online catalog.

Special Collections also features two unique sets of materials. The first is the Founder's Library [A-Z list of materials], which is a replica of the library of the college's founder, William Plumer Jacobs. The second is the Arnold Collection, which includes items and research materials related to the families of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, D. H. Hill, Robert Hall Morrison, and Thomas Arnold. See the Collection Management Policy for more information.

Archives and Special Collections Organization

Most of the books in the special collections are organized by subject, as are all other Library materials, and are listed in the online catalog, THOMCAT. However, other materials in the Archives consisting of photographs, newspaper clippings, programs, etc. are not listed and are organized as follows:

Record Groups:

• RG1 Board of Trustees: includes agendas, minutes, correspondence, as well as College charters and bylaws and the minutes of the Clinton High School/College Association
• RG2 President: includes correspondence, Annual Reports, reports of Chaplain, Athletic Director, Director of Special Projects, records of the Board of Visitors
• RG3 Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of the Faculty
  • Assistant Dean and Director/Institutional Research
  • Library
  • Registrar/Director of Records
  • Academic Departments
  • Cultural Events Program
  • Media Services
  • Academic Computing
  • Special Programs
• RG4 Vice President for Enrollment/Dean of Admissions
• RG5 Dean of Students
• RG6 Vice President for Finance
  • Food Services
  • Campus Store
  • Physical Plant
  • Public Safety
• RG7 Vice President for College Advancement
• RG8 Director of Public Relations
• RG9 Administrative Services
• RG10 Special Events
• RG11 Students
  • Papers
  • Alternative Newspapers
  • Athletic Leagues
• RG12 Staff Organizations

In addition to these materials, there are separate collections of photographs, programs from College events, clippings, files on PC students, faculty, staff, alumni, and publications.

There is an additional section of the archives that contains materials related to

Presbyterian College, but not produced by the various offices listed above. Among the collections in this section are the sermons and papers of William Plumer Jacobs and his father, Ferdinand Jacobs; Mrs. Lillian Brown's World War II Bee-Mail Letters; and materials on Thornwell Orphanage. All material in the Archives and Special Collections is accessible during Archives hours.