An inquiry about the original doors to the Supreme Court of South Carolina building on Gervais Street turned into a treasure hunt, yielding images of Columbia that are pretty different than what we know today. The law librarian at the Court asked for anything we could find about the front doors to the building, which was a post office until the state bought it in 1966. Images like this one from the Digital Public Library of America show their appearance. Connecting with the National Archives, we learned that the building's architectural drawings and plans are on file in Maryland.

The six-week basic American sign language class begins on September 20. This hands-on series teaches how to improve your service to deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons. We cover basic information about American Sign Language and Deaf Culture and specific vocabulary for the library setting. Each session builds on the proceeding to reinforce knowledge and expand participants’ communication skills with members of the Deaf community. Sessions are recorded and available for three months for those who cannot attend live.

August 9, 2022 marks Smokey Bear's 78th birthday!

The Smokey Bear doll featured in this photo is part of our collection; libraries used it for the Summer Reading Club in the 1950s. The Ad Council and Forest Service commissioned artist Albert Staehle to create the fictional character to help prevent forest fires.

Smokey's popularity remains strong, and so does the effort to protect America's land. Check out the resources below from our collection to learn more about South Carolina forests and watch this video for an up close and personal look at Smokey Bear.

Two new magazines featuring southern culture and the Palmetto State are available for patrons of Talking Book Services. Columbia Metropolitan Magazine and The Southern Edge are now part of our collection. We hope to enable all South Carolina residents to experience stories of southern culture and events. Visit the Talking Book Services website to hear more about these additional offerings.

When a gentleman in France doing research hit "send" after drafting a reference question, he was unsure what type of response he would receive. However, when you reach out to a South Carolina State Library librarian, you don't just get help; you gain a research partner. Librarian Hannah Majewski got to work searching for information on Philippe-Stanislas Noisette, a French gardener and botanist sent to Charleston in 1803 to become the director of the South Carolina Agricultural Society's garden. She found articles about Noisette, his family, and his career.

We joined the Hardeeville Library in Jasper County in celebrating new, inclusive additions to its collection. Last weekend State Library Director of Finance and Grants Wendy Coplen, Inclusive Services Consultant Caroline Smith, and Grants Administrator Alexandra Sanders visited the library to see materials purchased using a multilingual collection development grant. The grants, awarded last fall, help support people who speak a language other than English at home by offering new library materials in their first languages.

South Carolina State Library cardholders may now access five of the nation's leading newspapers. Daily issues of The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal are available by 8:00 a.m. eastern time. Users may find the ProQuest US Major Dailies newspaper collection on the State Library's A-Z page. The collection provides archives dating back to 1980. If you do not have a State Library card, fill out the application on our website. 

This spring we kick off a monthly series on African American genealogy. Each session features a different topic to help South Carolinians trace their family history.