Wilson Library

I’m ashamed to say that I spent 4 years as a student at UNC and never actually stepped foot in Wilson Library. It was only recently, as a UNC employee with a boyfriend in grad school, that I had any reason to visit. It’s one of the most iconic buildings on campus, so it stands to reason that the interior would be equally beautiful. As William and Christina said, security is tight and they have quite a few rules and restrictions regarding their Rare Book Collection. I think the majority of their literature seems to focus on local history, what with the North Carolina Collection and Southern Historical Collection being housed there. The Music Library is also located in Wilson — it’s apparently the biggest research music collection in the South. Wilson isn’t as well-​suited to late night study sessions as Davis or the Undergrad, but all those old documents mean it’s a great resource if you’re working on a project that needs primary sources.

Ok, I admit that I’ve never had need to research any Rare Books here. So I invented an excuse a couple years ago, just to try it. That’s the sort of guy I am.
The stories that I’d been told did not disappoint. I was run through so much security I thought I was in a Get Smart parody. For a library! Try it some time, it’s a lot of fun.
Once you’re in there it’s a really great place. You’d be amazed the kinds of books they have on file in the Rare Books collection. I about went nuts with stuff from the Sherlock Holmes collection… amazing!

Though you don’t need a secret password or a retinal scan to study here, it almost seems like it. I had to especially jump through some hoops when I wanted to research some journals in their Rare Books archived collection. I was a grad student at a different university — so using the library required some form-​filling.
You have to lock your backpack away in a separate room and can only take pencil (no pens!), paper, and a laptop with you into the study room. My journals were old and stiff, so they gave me special paperweights (they don’t look so ‘special’ — more like felt blocks) to weigh them down with. Luckily, my materials weren’t so old that I had to be supervised while reading them or use ‘special’ tweezers to turn the pages.
If you take a moment to soak up the room, you can’t help but be awed (I’m an admitted book geek, but still…). The room itself is beautiful, but there’s also something thrilling about being in the presence of so many rare and ancient tomes locked away in cages. There are also underground archives, and the contents of these unseen rooms hearken a scene from The Historian (or, for you movie-​going types, National Treasure).
Of course, Wilson has other rooms that are less intimidating! Check out the NC writers section, which is set up like a museum.