The University of South Carolina Upstate Library began in a small room located on the first floor of the Spartanburg General Hospital nursing residence in 1967. Increasing enrollment and lack of physical space, the Library was moved in the Spring of 1968 to the basement of what was formerly the Spartanburg County Health Department. At that time the holdings of the library totaled 9,607.

The USC Upstate campus began in the fall of 1969 with one building – the current Stockwell Administration Building.

Construction of a new building began in 1976. In addition to housing the Library, the building was designed for classrooms and office space. The project took one year to complete and classes were held in the building for the first time In January 1977. Over the years, the library has been remodeled as services and programs changed to meet the needs of the students. As of the 2014-2015 academic year, the library's volume count is 243,116 with more than 200 databases.

The USC Upstate Library promotes the metropolitan mission of the University by serving the curricular information needs of USC Upstate students, faculty and staff, and where possible, the educational needs of the broader community. The Library anticipates and strives to utilize innovations in education and technology, and responds to the evolving curriculum. The efforts of every member of the Library staff are committed to the ultimate objective of providing the highest possible quality of service.

To these ends, the library selects, acquires, processes, organizes and maintains Library materials appropriate to the academic and cultural interests in the USC Upstate community. The Library facilitates access to information and materials through the provision of a wide variety of services. The Library provides an environment conducive to learning by providing study and reading facilities. The Library teaches students to find information independently so that they may better perform their tasks as well-informed members of society.

1. Meet the information needs of the University community by providing timely access to information both through our collection and through access to other Library collections.
2. Teach all USC Upstate students to be effective users of information, including locating, evaluating and using information and library materials independently.
3. Make the fullest possible use of available technologies to enhance access to the collection, remote sources of information, and improve the efficiency of the Library's operation.
4. Work with the University administration, faculty and students to insure that the Library's services and collections are known and utilized.
5. Provide information and services in support of the overall mission of the University.

The Stacks map is a PDF guide to where materials are located in the library. As we grow and change we will try to keep this page updated, if you have problems locating materials please Ask a Librarian.