The State Library of North Carolina on East Jones Street is the main depository for the state's publications. This building is the main depository for North Carolina state publications and serves libraries, state government employees, and citizens. The State Library is a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the state agency that promotes and protects North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture.
From here it serves North Carolina government agencies and employees by providing access to information resources pertinent to public decision-making and economic development. The institution you face has roots reaching back to 1812, when the North Carolina General Assembly required the Secretary of State to collect, catalog, and safeguard books and documents for the use of the state legislature and government officials. That directive set the library on a path to gather and preserve the documentary record of the state.
The State Library maintains two locations in Raleigh: this main building next to the North Carolina State Legislative Building and near the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped on Capital Boulevard. The State Legislative Building stands beside you, with the two museums close by.