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Address 376 University Blvd, Conway, SC 29526, USA Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hours Similar CINO Grille, The Cove at Coastal Carolina, Brooks Stadium, Pie by Night, Conway Library Profiles | ||
Kimbel Library is located in Conway, South Carolina, and is the academic library at Coastal Carolina University. It is named after William and Maud Kimbel, benefactors of the University.
History
When Coastal Carolina Junior College was established as a branch of the College of Charleston, arrangements were made for the Horry County Memorial Library to house reserves,and the junior college supplemented the public library and Conway High School library budgets. Catherine Lewis became the first Librarian at Coastal Carolina after a classroom was converted to a library.
After Coastal became a branch of the University of South Carolina in 1961, it moved from its location at Conway High School and into its current location, sitting on 184 acres (0.74 km2) of land. Then, only the Singleton building existed, which housed classrooms, offices, and the library. A full-time librarian could no longer be afforded, so Patricia Kleinhans was hired as a library assistant. After the 1967 SACS visit described the library as minimal, the college decided to allot $180,000 to expand the building and allow for the expansion of the library to 27,000 volumes.
In 1975 Coastal a became a 4-year institution. The architectural firm of James, DuRant, James and Matthews designed the new Kimbel Library. The Dargan Company was hired to build the 2 million dollar project during the summer of 1976. The ribbon cutting ceremony of Kimbel Library was held November 15, 1977.
Two-thirds of the library’s second floor was devoted to 8 classrooms and 25 faculty offices that would later be available for library expansion. The original shelf space was for 120,000 volumes that would increase to 200,000 when the entire 2nd floor was utilized; although in 1977 the library only had about 55,000 books. On July 1, 1993, Coastal Carolina University became independent from the University of South Carolina. When the Edwards Building of Humanities and Fine Arts was built, it provided office space and classrooms for those that had been taking up space on the second floor of Kimbel Library. In 2002, the entire second floor of the library was renovated, and individual and group study rooms were provided, as well as more shelving for the 250,000 volumes Kimbel Library now has.