The library is comprised of several different components that are designed to support the growing research needs of the University, local, state, national and international patrons.
North Carolina Collection—The Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection is one of the state’s major repositories dedicated to the study of North Carolina, its culture and its people and is the only one to emphasize the Eastern region of the state. The department procures, preserves and provides access to current and historical information about North Carolina in all subject areas and in a variety of formats, including books, pamphlets, maps, microforms, electronic media, prints and ephemera. Staff members maintain an extensive clipping file of newspaper articles and produce the North Carolina Periodicals Index, available on its Web site, which provides access to more than 50 magazines and journals published in North Carolina. Also housed in the department is the Snow L. and B.W.C. Roberts Collection of North Carolina Literature, which contains more than 1,200 works of fiction set in North Carolina. Materials in the department date from the early eighteenth century to the present.
Special Collections—The Special Collections Department of J.Y. Joyner Library is a major historical research facility containing a wide variety of archival, manuscript and published materials with a focus on the history of Eastern North Carolina, East Carolina University and naval, military and maritime history subjects. The department provides the most extensive repository for historical research materials east of Raleigh and it ranks among the five largest such collections in North Carolina. A closed stacks, non-circulating facility, its wide variety of historical research materials are open to students, faculty, visiting scholars and the general public. The department includes the East Carolina Manuscript Collection, the University Archives, the Rare Book Collection, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection and the Hoover Collection on International Communism. Occupying the fourth floor and parts of the third floor of the Joyner Library complex, the department’s handsomely paneled and furnished Search Room provides a dignified and comfortable atmosphere for research activities.
Teaching Resources Center—The Teaching Resources Center (TRC), established in 1988 and located on the second floor of Joyner Library, serves as a resource for students enrolled in the teacher education program at East Carolina University and for educators in Eastern North Carolina. The following resources are available in the TRC: basal K-12 textbooks, supplementary K-12 textbooks, textbook correlations, NC Standard Course of Study, Kraus Curriculum, bibliographies, guides, audiovisual materials, online resources, K-12 reference materials, easy picture books, big books, juvenile/young adult fiction, nonfiction and biographies. The Ronnie Barnes African American Resource Center and Joyner Library’s video/DVD collection are also housed in the TRC. The Enhancing Teachers Classroom center assists educators in creating and preparing materials used in lesson plans, classroom materials and presentations. Along with computer stations with software such as Essential Teacher Tools, Kid Pix and GraphicMaster, the ETC also houses a laminating machine, office and art supplies, an Artwaxer, a light box, a badge maker and an Ellison Die-Cut center with over 300 dies. The ETC is free for use by pre-service teachers and Eastern North Carolina educators.
Music Library—A department of Joyner Library, the Music Library is located on the first floor of the A. J. Fletcher Music Center. It serves not only the specialized needs of ECU School of Music and School of Theatre and Dance faculty, staff and students, but also the needs of church musicians, music teachers and performers throughout Eastern North Carolina. The Music Library houses Joyner Library’s entire audio recording collection of approximately 19,000 CDs, cassette tapes and LPs and a portion of Joyner’s video recording collection (about 1,200 music-related DVDs and VHS cassettes). In addition to these media collections, the library owns sizable collections of musical scores and music-related books, journals, microforms and computer software. All music library collections contain materials dealing with every style and genre of music from classical to rock to reggae.
Government Documents and Microforms—In existence since 1951, the collection numbers approximately 532,000 paper titles, 567,000 pieces of microfiche, 5,000 CD-ROM and DVD-ROM titles and over 105,000 sheet maps. The collection includes publications from a wide variety of federal departments and agencies as well as laws, regulations, statistical resources and Congressional publications. The Map Collection contains a large selection of 7.5-minute USGS topographical maps, orthophoto quad maps, Operational Navigation Charts, Jet Navigation Charts, Global Navigation Charts, CIA maps of other countries and regions, nautical charts and other hydrological series, several geological series, the older Army Mapping Service series and various other small series. The General Microforms Collection features over 450,000 titles and 1.8 million units of material. Its contents include magazines and journals, national and out-of-state newspapers, ERIC documents, novels and plays, personal papers and other primary source documents.
Reference Services—The Reference Department offers personal assistance to members of the East Carolina University community, both on and off campus, who need help with their research and course assignments. Assistance is provided at the reference desk via e-mail, real time Internet "chat", telephone and through various Web-based services. Members of the reference staff help users identify relevant print and online sources, learn how to use these sources, formulate search strategies, find statistical data and much more. The Reference Services collection, located on the first floor of Joyner Library, includes high-quality print and online reference materials and databases. The department’s services include free individual half-hour research consultations, course-integrated library instruction sessions, customized Web pages that support distance education classes, the Pirate Source subject guide database and Virtual Reference Desks.
The Center for Digital Projects—Academic Library Services established a digitization center in 2001, and in June of 2005, the center was separated into its own unit and titled the Center for Digital Projects (CDP). The center processes unique print collections into collections accessible via the Internet. The center has received over $500,000 in grant funds to date. The number of digital projects for the future is endless as Joyner Library continues to emphasize the content and rich resources of Eastern North Carolina and provide global access to these resources. The Digital Projects staff works closely with faculty and staff in the College of Art to maintain the Digital Resource Collection (DRC), and many additional opportunities for campus-wide collaboration are expected, including the development of an Electronic Theses and Dissertations project.
Access Services—This department oversees Circulation and Interlibrary services. Circulation manages and distributes library materials and reserves. Interlibrary services obtains materials from other libraries on behalf of eligible East Carolina University patrons that are not available in Joyner Library’s collections.
Technical Services—The mission of Technical Services is to acquire, organize and conserve recorded knowledge to support the University’s commitment to education, research and regional development. The Acquisitions Unit is responsible for the ordering and receiving of materials in all formats purchased for the library's collections. The Cataloging Unit provides access to these collections through maintaining online catalog data, enabling patrons to locate and retrieve desired materials either in the library or through an electronic gateway. The Preservation & Conservation Unit is responsible for conserving materials according to internationally accepted standards, as well as identifying items requiring replacement and preparing materials to be professionally bound.
Administrative Services—Academic Library Services (ALS) is a branch of Academic Affairs and reports through the Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Administrative Services Department is responsible for ensuring the day-to-day operations of the library. This includes budget planning, organizational planning, operational planning, physical planning, strategic planning, payroll, personnel actions, personnel records, budgets expending, public relations, development and security.
