General Collection

To meet the information needs of both state government and the citizens of South Carolina, the State Library maintains a general collection of non-fiction publications on a wide range of topics, such as history, art, applied technology, political science, and the social sciences. The collection includes books, periodicals and newspapers in both paper and microfilm, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) microfiche, and electronic resources on CD and the Internet. The general collection currently contains approximately 313,00 books, 621,000 microforms, and 935 electronic resources. The Library subscribes to more than 2,200 periodicals.

The general collection is supplemented by several special collections.

South Carolina Collection

This collection includes published materials dealing with South Carolina and South Carolinians. Multiple copies of South Carolina titles are usually purchased to ensure that one copy remains in the Library for long-term, historical purposes. Publications that are primarily genealogical in nature are not collected. The South Carolina collection contains approximately 26,000 items.

Government Publications

As a federal depository library since 1970, the State Library receives publications of the United States government in print, microfiche, and electronic formats. As the official State Documents Depository, the Library has the world’s largest collection of South Carolina state government publications. The federal documents collection contains approximately 281,000 documents, and the state documents collection contains approximately 81,000 items.

Grants Research Collection

This collection contains specialized publications to assist nonprofit organizations seeking grant funding from private and corporate foundations and government agencies. As a cooperating collection of the Foundation Center, the library receives copies of the federal income tax returns filed by South Carolina foundations. In conjunction with this collection, the Library periodically publishes the South Carolina Foundation Directory.

South Carolina Fiction Cooperative

Fiction titles identified as the “last copy” in a particular South Carolina public library’s collection are cataloged and maintained as part of the State Library’s collection to ensure that citizens have access to older novels. There are about 30,000 titles in this collection.

Audiovisual Collection

Materials in videotape and audiocassette are collected to assist the Library’s customers with specific topics. Audiovisual materials to support programs for children in public libraries and to provide information and training in the fields of early childhood education are maintained. Training videos to help state employees improve their job and management skills are purchased and circulated to a wide variety of state agencies. Audiovisual materials designed to train staff and librarians are also purchased to improve the skills of staff in libraries throughout the state. The audiovisual collection contains approximately 4,300 items.

Talking Book Collection

Through its Talking Book Services program, the State Library provides recorded books and magazines, descriptive videotapes, and large print books to South Carolina residents who are unable to read or use standard print materials as a result of temporary or permanent visual or physical limitations. The necessary playback equipment is also provided free of charge to qualified users. There are more than 337,000 items in this collection.