The Timrod Literary and Library Association has managed an archive restoration project to sort, categorize, and preserve 100+ years worth of records, materials, and artifacts. SC Humanities supported this project with a Mini Grant.
Archivist Kari Roueche will present “Landmarks in Timrod Library History” at 3 p.m. September 7, 2025 at the Timrod Library, followed by a reception. Tickets are $10 for Timrod Library members, $15 for non-members, and are available at the Library in person or by phone (843) 871-4600. A similar event on June 22 sold out quickly and was well received by a full house at the Library.
The archive of the Timrod Library dates back to 1897—with the minutes of the first meeting of the Library’s founders, the Summerville Chautauqua Literary and Science Circle—and continues to the present.
The South Carolina Humanities grant made it possible for the Timrod Library Board of Directors to create and fund the archive project. The plan encompassed hiring Roueche, a professional archivist, to organize and catalog the existing collection. It also included purchasing materials, and creating space to safely store both historic and contemporary records for continued preservation.
The overall purpose of the project, along with protecting these historic records, is to make them accessible for research and to shed a light on the local and regional history intertwined in the story of the Timrod Library.
The Library board is currently developing guidelines for public access and research and considering future lecture presentations. For more information, see https://www.thetimrodlibrary.org/archive-restoration-presentations.html.
The Timrod Library is located in historic downtown Summerville, South Carolina, and is one of only two membership libraries still in existence in South Carolina. Their mission is dedicated to contributing to the quality of life in Summerville by providing the community a variety of print, audio, and video materials and by preserving the historic building in which the collections are housed.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.