The Round Table Book Club Records
1910-2010
Manuscript Collection #1489- Creator(s)
- Round Table Book Club (Greenville, N.C.)
- Physical description
- 4 Cubic Feet
- Preferred Citation
- The Round Table Book Club Records (#1489), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
- Repository
- ECU Manuscript Collection
- Access
- Access to original audiovisual and digital media is restricted. Please contact Special Collections at specialcollections@ecu.edu for access copies.
The Round Table Book Club Records document the history and activities of the Round Table Book Club of Greenville, North Carolina, from approximately 1910 through 2014. The collection contains constitutions and bylaws, meeting minutes, attendance records, yearbooks and annual programs, correspondence, event materials, historical writings, photographs, artifacts, and audiotape recordings. These materials provide insight into the intellectual, cultural, and civic activities of the organization and its members, including reading programs, lectures, anniversary celebrations, and community engagement. Particularly extensive are the club's yearbooks and meeting minutes, which provide a nearly continuous record of the organization's operations, leadership, reading selections, and program themes across multiple decades. The collection also documents the club's role in local cultural life, including its involvement with Sheppard Memorial Library and other civic initiatives in Greenville and Pitt County.
Biographical/historical information
The Round Table Book Club, also known as the Ladies of the Round Table, was created on April 10th, 1910, at the home of Mrs. G. W. Baker, with a total of 19 members pledging their support. At that same meeting they elected the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer and named the club "The Round Table", after the Round Table from the legend of King Arthur. After adjourning for summer, they meet on October 4th where the first program of the year was presented, "Love Tales of our Grandmothers". The club wrote multiple constitutions during their formative years, and it continued to be amended throughout their 100-year history. They adopted a club motto ("To be, rather to be seen"), colors (white and gold), emblem (Lighted torch), and flower (daisy) in subsequent meetings. Yearbooks were created from their inception in 1910 until 2014. The club rarely talked about the books they read, instead hosted programs for their members with presenters from the club itself, East Carolina University facility and staff, local organizations/businesses and honorary members of the club. 14 audiotapes of club meetings and presentations are also included in the collection.
The club had ties to other book clubs in Greenville and Pitt County area such as the End of the Century, Cilo, San Souci, Chatham book clubs. These clubs met up often in the 1940's and 1950's with the Annual Book Club Day and other events like the Art Festival and Book Club Day.
The Round Table also has multiple ties to Sheppard Memorial Library, going back to the very first club meeting. They regularly donated books as well as money to the library in their early years, with multiple letters from the library thanking the club for its support found in the collection. For the club's 50th anniversary, they donated two brass candelabras. Also found in the collection are information on the early days of the library, including letters and a copy of the loan for the original location and a newspaper clipping on the death of H.D Sheppard.
The Round Table Book Club disbanded in 2014.
Scope and arrangement
The Round Table Book Club Records document the activities, organization, and history of the Round Table Book Club of Greenville, North Carolina from approximately 1910 through 2014. The collection contains administrative records, meeting documentation, printed programs, yearbooks, historical materials, photographs, correspondence, and audiovisual recordings that illustrate the intellectual, social, and civic activities of the club and its members over more than a century. Administrative records include constitutions, bylaws, and procedural documents reflecting the governance and evolving structure of the organization. Meeting documentation is particularly extensive and includes club meeting minutes, secretary's records, attendance records, and occasional correspondence and program notes associated with meetings. Event and program materials document special gatherings, author luncheons, Book Club Day celebrations, and other literary or cultural events hosted or attended by the organization. Yearbooks and annual programs form the most continuous portion of the collection, spanning much of the club's history and providing detailed information about yearly themes, reading lists, club leadership, and scheduled programs. Additional historical documentation includes anniversary publications, club histories, memorial tributes, and records related to members' civic activities. Correspondence in the collection includes letters exchanged with club members, local organizations, and national organizations such as the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. Visual and material documentation is also present in the form of photographs, anniversary memorabilia, and artifacts associated with club celebrations and commemorations. Photographs depict club members, anniversary events, and locations associated with the organization's history. The collection also includes audiotapes of lectures and presentations delivered at club meetings. The collection is arranged in ten series: (1) Constitution and Bylaws, (2) Minutes and Meeting Notes, (3) Events and Programs, (4) Yearbooks, (5) Club History, (6) Correspondence and Letters, (7) Artifacts, (8) Photographs and Photobook, (9) Sheppard Memorial Library and Sheppard Family, and (10) Audiotapes. These series reflect the functional activities of the club and the major formats of material present in the collection.
Administrative information
Custodial History
January 23, 2026 (processed), 4 cubic feet; Records (1910-2010) of The Round Table Book Club of Greenville, N.C. Includes meeting minutes, financial documents, yearbooks, constitutions and by-laws, programs, correspondence, photographs, and artifacts. Also contains materials documenting local history, the activities of other Greenville book clubs, and the founding of Sheppard Memorial Library. Gift of Kathy Rawl Deal.
Source of acquisition
Gift of Kathy Rawl Deal
Processing information
Processed by Katelynn Hudson, March 2026
Copyright notice
This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to specialcollections@ecu.libanswers.com. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state law. The user assumes full responsibility for using such information and is advised that the disclosure of such information about identifiable living individuals without their consent may have legal ramifications.
Metadata Rights Declaration
This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.