Hunter Library

About the University
Western Carolina University (WCU) is an enrollment growth campus within the University of North Carolina system and is situated in a beautiful valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, west of Asheville and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While in a rural setting, the university is one hour from Asheville, and only three hours from Atlanta and Charlotte. WCU’s mission is “to improve individual lives and enhance economic and community development in our region, state, and nation through engaged learning opportunities in our academic programs, educational outreach, research, and creative and cultural activities.” The university library is at the core of this mission and the university’s strategic plan (adopted in 2012).

A “Carnegie Engaged” university, WCU has important educational and service connections to the Western North Carolina region. This region of the Southern Appalachians is famous for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee reservation (the largest east of the Mississippi), the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (one of the most popular parks in the US), the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Asheville.

About the Library
The university library is housed in Hunter Library on the WCU campus and extends services to distance education and instructional sites in Asheville and Cherokee. WCU’s library has a long, respected record of providing excellent service to the university community. Library staff are dedicated to the thoughtful integration of print and digital resources and to supporting the information literacy development of students and the teaching and research needs of faculty.

The library has three departments comprised of 19 faculty and 30 staff members. The Content Organization and Management (COM) department selects, acquires, organizes and manages intellectual content to support the learning, teaching, and scholarship activities of the WCU community. COM includes 5 librarians and 10 support staff members and is responsible for a collection budget of approximately $1.5 million. The collection includes approximately 610, 000 print and 455, 000 e-books and provides access to more than 62, 000 journals; the library has 11 digital collections. The library provides support across the university for open access, data management, and work in the digital humanities.