Giving to our Library
No single building on campus has a greater impact on more students’ experiences at ECU – everyone connects at the library, regardless of discipline, year or background. Academic Library Services is the intellectual heart of the university.
As the largest research library in eastern North Carolina, the breadth and depth of our collections, technology and services support and benefit our students, faculty and our community.
From leading ECU’s textbook affordability initiatives to assisting faculty in their research to developing programs and events that bring together our neighbors, the library’s work is broader – and more vital – than ever.
We can’t do it without you; your generosity makes so much possible for our students, our campus and our region.
Academic Library Services Giving Priorities
Textbook Affordability Program
Since 2015, the Library’s textbook affordability programs have saved ECU students more than $1.4 million.
Our Faculty Program provides monetary and librarian support to instructors who want to replace commercial textbooks with options that are free to their students. These could be open textbooks, online articles from the Library’s subscription databases, or primary source materials from our collections.
Through the Course-Adopted Textbook Program, the Library acquires e-book versions of selected textbooks that can be made available to an unlimited number of simultaneous users.
Because many textbooks are not available this way, the third prong of our program is our Print Reserve Textbook Collection. Each semester, we purchase copies of the texts used in the highest-enrollment courses and place them on Reserve. In some cases, we scan chapters and place them on electronic reserve or in Canvas, ECU’s course management system. The Library also pays for hundreds of streaming media, so that students do not need to pay to watch the films required for their courses.
Students stand and cheer when their instructors tell them that their course materials are free! We are thankful to donors who have supported these programs since they began. But we need your help to expand them. Be part of the program that is Number One in its impact on students – textbook affordability!
Investing in Student Employees
Employment not only helps students pay their bills and stay in school, it helps them apply classroom knowledge in real world situations, gain workplace skills, and build their resumes.
The Library provides employment opportunities that match skills needed in more than a dozen majors, such as accounting, marketing, organizational development, library science, history, English, foreign languages, communication, art, education, computer science, and business analytics. All students employed at the Library enhance the soft skills most valued by employers – communication, time management, critical thinking, and teamwork. Many of our student employees gain valuable customer service experience by working at public service desks.
The Library uses the GROW (Guided Reflections on Work) program started at University of Iowa to help students and supervisors be more intentional about the skills students are learning and how they relate to their coursework, majors, and intended careers.
We want to expand the current student employee scholarship program that is underwritten by a dedicated library donor so that we can reward more outstanding student employees through scholarships that will ease their financial burden while honoring their contributions.
Student Equipment Loans
Last year, ECU students borrowed technology equipment from the Library more than 43,000 times.
Being able to access quality materials for free through the library helps students succeed and encourages creativity and experimentation. Demand is often higher than availability, though, and students aren’t always able to borrow what they need when they need it.
Your support will help the Library increase the equipment available for loan to students. We loan more than 25 categories of equipment including calculators, digital and video cameras, zoom lenses, projectors, hotspots, laptops, Blu-Ray players, tripods, microphones, and portable sound systems.
Safe Study Spaces
Students love our 100+ private and group study rooms. Last year, group study rooms were reserved for 287,000 hours!
In addition, we offer a variety of study and collaboration spaces in open areas. Booths, high top tables, and individual study units with built-in power, data and lights are student favorites.
Help us prepare for more students returning to campus and the Library. We must ensure a physical environment that follows new safety protocols and allows people to create, collaborate and be productive. Changes such as dividers, screens and barriers may sound simple, but require funds. Help us keep our Pirates safe!
You can support any of these programs through a gift to the Priority Fund. Thank you for your support!
Other Ways to Give
How to Give
When you are ready to give to the library, click the button below to be taken to the Joyner Library section on ECU’s main giving website. Find the Joyner fund to which you wish to donate and click the Give button. Please contact us if you need help or have questions.