Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part article dealing with Friends of the Library. The second part will appear in the next issue.

More than half a century has passed since Friends of the Library was first organized at the University of Mississippi. Its first years, when the university grew enormously from the influx of veterans of World War II, are now so shrouded in obscurity that little is known about them. The reorganization of Friends in 1953, however, remains a clear landmark to those who participated in it.

The reorganization in 1953 coincided with several events. Professor David Robinson, who discovered the Greek remains at Olympus and who retired to Ole Miss from the Johns Hopkins University, purchased a very rare collection of Coptic manuscripts during an expedition to the Middle East. Five Ole Miss professors and deans had signed a note to repay him, and university personnel asked Friends of the Library to raise the money.

The Friends also emerged out of a need to coordinate the logistics of gifts to the library. A person who was known throughout the state could best direct an appeal for private donations. Mrs. Robert McClain, wife of an executive of the Southern Railway, became chair of the newly reorganized Friends of the Library. She directed the program, represented Friends of the Library, and set up an accounting system for Friends. Dr. John Pilkington, a “fresh-caught” assistant professor in the English department, who had manifested a zeal for the library, became secretary-treasurer. His job was to write thank-you notes, deposit the contributions, and help with appeals for contributions. Friends of the Library was to have its own bank account in Oxford and an agency account with the university. It made its purchases through the library. Thus it was, and still is, a semi-autonomous organization.

The main function of Friends was to support the library, and the primary goal of Friends in 1953, and for a time thereafter, was to raise funds to pay for the Coptic manuscripts. They consisted of a number of papyri and a single book written in Coptic. This last was one of the oldest volumes in existence, of priceless value. Together Mrs. McClain and Dr. Pilkington prepared letters to alumni and others requesting donations for the purchase.

Meanwhile, the chair and secretary-treasurer had other ideas. They wished to help the library acquire greater research resources. They saw microforms as the best and least expensive way to acquire such materials. Their first project was to purchase the New York Times newspaper on microfilm at a cost of $6,000, a considerable sum in those days. Solicitations often combined the two projects in the same letter. Sometimes an insert showed the number of volumes in the Ole Miss library, as compared with those in neighboring state universities. Ole Miss was always at the bottom of the list. During these years Hugh Clegg was director of university development and in charge of soliciting funds for the university. He did not allow Friends of the Library to ask for money from "big-spenders" for fear they would give Friends a small amount and consider they had done enough. Friends was thus a relatively small operation--and still is.

The two projects took years to complete. At the end, a wealthy donor gave the last segment of funds for the Coptic manuscripts. After paying for the New York Times, Friends turned to acquiring other newspapers on microfilm and early American research materials. In this manner thousands of pages of research material were added to the library. As contributions increased, Friends began to buy books through its agency account in the university and the library. Bookplates were designed and inserted in each book to show the name of the donor and the person honored (both deceased and living).

In the 1950s and 1960s Friends did not enjoy the uncritical support of everyone. Many faculty members and administrators thought that the library had enough books to support a small liberal arts institution with an emphasis upon teaching and not research. When Friends was asked to administer the sizable Billups and Barksdale funds, it canvassed the various departments and schools to find out their library needs. A considerable number replied that they had enough books. In fact, every year many departments failed to spend their annual library allotment. On those occasions Friends stood ready to utilize these last-minute funds.

During these years Friends made some notable additions to the library. Among them, in addition to the New York Times, Friends added microfilm of early American magazines, microforms of early accounts of travels throughout the South, a complete file of Vanity Fair, many UNESCO art books, the multivolume Grove dictionary of music, rare Southern books, photographs of the Faulkner family, and scores of scholarly books. Friends also participated in the efforts of acquisitions librarian Tommy Tullos to build an extensive collection of secondary material relating to Faulkner.

The 1970s saw changes in Friends of the Library. In 1974 Mrs. McClain retired, and Dr. Pilkington took over the work of Friends. Other members of the executive board of Friends either retired or were deceased. The racial tensions of the l960s continued to influence the flow of contributions.

The mid-l970s, however, marked a turning point in the focus of the university. Senior university administrators began to push Ole Miss in the direction of research and publication. The legislature appropriated money called “library catch-up” funds. At Ole Miss the Graduate School under the leadership of Dean Joseph Sam distributed these funds to stress research. With help from the Graduate School the library purchased five Recordak microfilm reader-printers that made this research material easily accessible. The climate of opinion within and without the library became more and more cognizant of the role of research in the university. By 1980 clearly Friends of the Library needed another reorganization--the subject of the second article on Friends of the Library to appear in the next issue of the Southern Register.

For additional information or to make a contribution, write Friends of the Library of the University of Mississippi, P.O. Box 473, University, MS 38677-0473.

John Pilkington