“As the collection grew and the importance of it grew, we came to realize that we needed to make a decision about the future and make it widely available. We were looking for a place that would honor the collection and keep it for future generations,” said Alice Hart, who formed a relationship with UNC Asheville as an administrator with Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools, and spent many hours in Ramsey Library completing her doctorate coursework. The Hart’s daughter also attended UNC Asheville. “It’s home,” Hart reflected.
“Our hope is that our library will serve several purposes,” said Bill Hart. “We envision that it will be a resource for someone who is teaching about the area, for student projects about the area, and for scholars who are interested in topics that are included in the collection… I hope this would serve people who are unenlightened to realize the talents of the people who live here, and maybe disabuse some of those people of stereotypical thoughts about the region.”
Bill and Alice can trace their respective ancestors back to the early settlers of the area. Both have served as educators, with Bill teaching high school history during the early part of his career before embarking on a career in human resource management, consulting, and training, and Alice serving as a teacher, a principal, and in multiple administrative roles throughout her career.
“UNC Asheville’s education has such a strong research component,” said Alice Hart. “As I looked at the collection, I could envision a curriculum throughout the University for instructors there, as well as for students.”
One of those instructors and researchers is Dan Pierce, UNC Asheville’s Mountain South Distinguished Professor of History.
“The Hart Collection is the most comprehensive and complete collection of printed materials on Western North Carolina history in existence. UNC Asheville now has a collection that rivals, and really exceeds, those at much larger research-oriented universities,” Pierce said.
“I am currently working on compiling the best writing over 400 years on the Great Smoky Mountains as part of an acclaimed series of readers on major National Parks. I'll have to go no further than across the Reynolds Quad to access all the materials I'll need.”
Pierce also sees opportunities for his students, along with students across campus. “I'm especially excited about the prospects for student research,” Pierce said. “The Collection contains materials to support a virtually endless number of topics for both capstone research projects and regular research papers in history, English, environmental studies, biology, sociology, new media, and anthropology. UNC Asheville's students are truly fortunate to have such a collection at their fingertips.”
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)