University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Union Catalog.

The North Carolina Union Catalog grew from the Joint Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, created in 1933 by the University of North Carolina and Duke University. The libraries of the two schools agreed to copy and exchange catalog cards for their holdings. In 1937, North Carolina State College added copies of its cards to the University of North Carolina file, which then became the union catalog. By 1957, 15 libraries were contributing cards. The University of North Carolina Library continued to house and maintain the union catalog, which became the chief bibliographic tool of its Interlibrary Center, estabished in 1958 to check interlibrary loan request against the Library's catalog and the union catalog and to refer requests as appropriate. By the early 1970s, over 100 libraries in the state were contributing cards. In 1977, the catalog was moved to the State Library of North Carolina.

From the description of Records of the North Carolina Union Catalog, 1934-1979 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 33073340

The North Carolina Union Catalog (NCUC) was established in 1933 through the cooperative efforts of the University of North Carolina and Duke University. With initial funding of $12,500 from a General Education Board grant, the libraries of the two schools agreed to copy and exchange catalog cards for their holdings. In 1937 North Carolina State College began adding copies of its cards to the University of North Carolina file, and by 1957, the number of participants had grown to fifteen. The catalog was originally housed in the Reference Department of Wilson Library, but as it grew, it required its own separate area and staff. In 1977, the entire catalog was transferred from Chapel Hill to the state library in Raleigh.

The NCUC functioned as a tool for researchers and library users in North Carolina by providing a complete record of the bibliographic resources of the libraries in the state. Its primary purposes were to give greater access to books and materials held in these libraries, to serve as a verification tool for interlibrary loan departments, and to enable acquisitions departments to determine holdings in other libraries.

From the guide to the Library North Carolina Union Catalog of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1934-1979, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)