GC Library

Hege Library Mission Statement

Hege Library leads the Guilford College community in identifying, locating, evaluating and gaining access to the full range of information available. The library’s promotion of information literacy advances the college’s mission of developing critical thinkers and principled problem solvers.

The library acquires, organizes, maintains and preserves a quality collection of intellectual resources that enhances Guilford’s academic program in an environment conducive to the pursuit of an excellent liberal arts education grounded in Quaker values.

Hege Library

Hege Library is a complex of facilities that comprises 53,000 square feet of space in a modern addition and 27,000 square feet of renovated area. Constructed in four phases beginning with a matching grant of $9,000 in 1908 from Andrew Carnegie of New York, the library has grown through time to offer numerous study spaces, to house the College Art Collection, and to provide print and electronic resources. At a cost of $5.4 million, the latest addition, completed in 1989, prepares the library for continued growth.

The library collection includes 240,000 books, periodicals, and non-print media, and the library provides study space for 400 users. The Hege Library includes a complete array of library services, the Friends Historical Collection, the Friends Center at Guilford College, an The Learning Commons, and the nine-room Guilford College Art Gallery. Library functions are automated with the catalog holdings of Guilford and many other area colleges available via computers at many campus locations. Through the World Wide Web, Guilford students can access national and international sources of information.

Several special endowed collections give the library a distinctive strength. Of special note are collections supported by Friends of the Library focused on science fiction, poetry, and simple living. Endowed collections also exist in the areas of science, history, fine arts, religion, English, women’s studies, foreign languages, and international Quaker studies.

Friends Historical Collection

The Friends Historical Collection, located in Hege Library, is a comprehensive research collection of materials pertaining to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) worldwide. The collection is open to Guilford students and faculty, Friends, visiting scholars, and genealogical researchers. At its core are more than 600 manuscript books of Carolina Quaker records dating from 1680. The collection also includes rare books and periodicals, manuscript collections of personal papers and correspondence, files, Quaker costumes and artifacts, student theses, the college archives, and genealogical resources. The Friends Center Office is adjacent to the collection.