Library named to honor Hollings
Former senator had key role in obtaining funds
COLUMBIA — The University of South Carolina's new library of special collections will bear the name of former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, university President Harris Pastides announced Friday.
The $18 million Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library will be home to the university's rare books and its S.C. Political Collections. It will contain manuscripts, documents and audio-visual records of South Carolina's congressmen, legislators and political organizations.
Still quotable
Former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings tangoed between the political and the benign Friday in remarks during a reception at the University of South Carolina to make him the namesake of a new library.
Here are some of the Democrat's comments:
On taxes:
"The very first thing I did in '59 was raise taxes."
Hollings, who became South Carolina's governor in 1959, spoke about the tax dollars needed to make investments and recruit businesses. He said the country is losing jobs in an effort to hand out tax cuts.
On the war:
"They're not looking for one man, one vote; they're looking for one tribe, one religion. We're wasting lives and time and money."
On the troop surge:
"If the surge gets us through November 4, it's worth it."
Hollings, taking aim at Republicans, said the surge was a political, not military strategy.
On a presidential endorsement:
"I'm selling books."
Hollings dodged the question of who he wants in the Oval Office. He said he's trying to raise money for the Medical University of South Carolina and wanted to stay neutral on an endorsement.
On the Wall Street bailout:
"I think they needed it."
Hollings said he is very concerned, though, with the interest and future costs that will be need to be repaid.
Construction began this summer on the 50,000-square-foot building located in the heart of USC's main campus behind the Thomas Cooper Library. Completion is expected in early 2010.
"It's quite an honor," said Hollings, who served in the Senate from 1966 to 2005. He was first elected to office in 1948 and was South Carolina's governor from 1959 to 1963.
Hollings helped the university secure federal funding for the library and began donating his political collection to it in 1989.
His archive includes about 800,000 pages and loads of photographs and memorabilia, such as campaign
license plates and his book "The Case Against Hunger," published in 1970.
Many other of Hollings' political mementos were lost in 1999 when a fire destroyed his Isle of Palms home.
"Over the past decade, the University of South Carolina has garnered greater recognition for the quality of its scholarly and scientific contributions to knowledge," Pastides said in a statement.
"Researchers around the world rely on these collections for their studies and students and other scholars now will have greater access to the cast materials that these collections provide."
Pastides also highlighted the prestige of USC's libraries as a top research university as designated by the Carnegie Foundation.
The libraries rank 34th in public research facilities.
The bulk of funds for the project, $14 million, come from a federal appropriation that Hollings secured. An additional $4 million was raised in private funds, $2 million of which came as an anonymous gift in fall 2004.
The new library will be connected to the exiting library by a bridge and will feature reading, seminar and research rooms, exhibit galleries, an auditorium, digitalization center and a mini-theater.
It was designed by Watson Tate Savory Architects Inc. and is being constructed using sustainable building practices.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
This article has 3 comment(s)
Posted by jammer on September 20, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ditto that stand828...
most places in the county name things as a memorial for a good reason, to remember their contributions to the area and also to make sure they don't name something after someone who's still alive and can still royally screw up
only here do they name them after living people to feed their ego's
Posted by guidedbystewart on September 20, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by Thomas1776 on September 20, 2008 at 7:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Grrrrrrrr! Hollings already has a godzillion buildings named after him! He was no REAL great politician. Look at his pork barrel spending record!"
Yeah but it is still not even half as much as Strom Thurmond.
Posted by outrage on September 20, 2008 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Name it the Citizen's Library. We paid for it!
14 million in appropriations, PORK - CALL IT PORK BARREL SPENDING, OR SECURING VOTES! What a joke.............