Come Tour!

At the Reception, 2010

On September 29, 2010, we re-opened the Beaufort District Collection in its much larger quarters on the 2nd floor, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC through the help of Beaufort County, Beaufort County Library, Friends of the Beaufort County Library, the Clover Club, and over 100 individual donors. (View images of the relocation process and other Library events). Through the years, the collection had grown so large that the space allotted on the first floor was totally inadequate - that, and we wanted desperately to store the collection well above the flood plain. (The Beaufort River is only a few blocks away). 

As the Library's the special local history collection and archives unit of the Beaufort County Library, we concentrate on gathering and sharing information about the people, places, and themes of the area wedged between the Combahee and Savannah Rivers, from the Atlantic to approximately 50 miles inland for the period 10,000 BCE ~ 1964.  The relocation was necessary to provide better conditions for this valuable and valued collection.
 


We follow Rare Book and Special Collections guidelines from the Association of College and Research Libraries; guidelines of the Society of American Archivists, the Reference and User Services (RUSA) guidelines of the ALA, and participate in the South Carolina Archival Association and the Public Library Association to provide the best service we can given the constraints of staffing, funding, and available space.

On Saturday, October 11th, we are hosting our 4th annual "See-What's-in-the-Closed-Stacks" tour in honor of SC Archives Month.  We'd love for you to sign up to attend.

As an added treat, folks who register will also get to see the "Creating the Carolinas" traveling exhibit loaned to us by the South Carolina Historical Society up close and personal on that date.  We'll begin the tour, surrounded by the "Creating the Carolinas" exhibit, with a very short presentation about the BDC's programs, services, and policies, and then head into the locked storage area to view the treasures. This is the only opportunity you have to see precious items from the BDC and the South Carolina Historical Society up close and personal at precisely the same time.

The 1.5 hour tour is free. In keeping with the "Archives and the Natural Environment" theme, this year we'll highlight some of the many natural history related treasures we hold in trust for the community. (Trust me, you'll be surprised.)  Because the BDC area is rather small, we must limit the number of participants to 15 people over age twelve. Please no walk-ins. Register today to join us! cseabrook@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

Charmaine and I do so hope that you can take the tour!