Clemson University

Library

Does the school have a library on campus? – Yes
Is it a member of a library consortia? – Yes
Number of books, serial backfiles, and other material including government documents: N/A
Number of current serial subscriptions: N/A
Number of microforms: 1,167,514
Number of audiovisuals: 168,682
Number of ebooks: N/A
Other library facilities: The artifact collection grew out of the Clemson Museum collections that were displayed in the University Library from the 1930s to the 1950s, as well as items that were donated as part of manuscript collections or came from various university departments and offices. Among the over 3,000 artifacts in the collection are Clemson College cadet uniforms from the 1890s-1950s and Clemson University Tiger Band uniforms from the 1950s-1980s. Items from the old Clemson Museum include Native American arrowheads and potsherds from the Southeast and the state of Arizona and mammoth or mastadon bones, a tusk and a tooth found in Alaska in the 1940s. The artifact collection has several items from 4-H Clubs, which are administered by the University’s Cooperative Extension Service, particularly a banner made in 1910 by members of the world’s first Girls Tomato Club (the predecessor of the 4-H Club) in Aiken County, South Carolina. [see below] Holdings also include textile-related material, such as spindles, tokens and fabric samples from various textile manufacturing companies.

Museums or other Special Academic Buildings on Campus: Fort Hill is a historic house museum on the Clemson campus and it has endured for 200 years. It is the residence of John C. Calhoun, US Statesman, and vice-president. A full-length portrait of South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun hangs in the lobby near the entrance to the R. M. Cooper Library. It was completed around 1900 by Tennessee artist Oliver Branson, having been commissioned by the Clemson University Board of Trustees as a copy of the G. P. A. Healy painting in the Charleston City Council Chamber.

The herbarium of Clemson University was initially organized between the turn of the century and 1905 by a group of early botanists who lectured and were often called upon to identify plant specimens for the general public. The herbarium (a collection of pressed, dried plants, and plant parts) was used to verify identifications and keep a more or less permanent documentation of the flora of South Carolina. The state’s botanical gardens are also located on the University campus. The Bob Campbell Geology Museum at Clemson University strives to enrich people’s lives by stimulating their curiosity and fostering a greater awareness and understanding of the complex, dynamic nature of geology. We illustrate geologic principles with southeastern U.S. and global examples, and demonstrate interrelationships between geology, botany, and the human experience.