Because the university gives the only advanced degree in the Triangle in this area, the Library has primary responsibility for acquiring titles in it. The Library houses the works of over 1,000 contemporary American authors, many of whom are from the South or are African-American authors. The Rare Book Collection houses some 2,000 novels about the Civil War. The Non-print Section of the Undergraduate Library includes materials on the South. Indeed, holdings of titles on the civil rights movement and protest songs are quite extensive.
Librarians plan to expand their collection of African-American films and folklore documentaries.
Over the years, UNC-CH has developed cooperative programs for Southern newspaper backfires on microfilm with Duke University. They are cataloged and appear on the serials' fiches of the two libraries. In add ition, the North Carolina Collection at UNC-CH collects North Carolina newspapers on film. UNC-CH offers the only M. A. degree in this field in the Triangle, so the Library has made the primary commitment to collect material in this area. Although there is not much of a Southern component to this field, the Library houses some film, radio and television scripts that relate to the South.