James P. Boyce Centennial Library
James P. Boyce Centennial Library
The James P. Boyce Centennial Library opened in late 1959 during Duke McCall’s presidency, and it houses one of the largest collections of theological works in the nation. It was constructed at a cost of $1,750,000 and was partially endowed by Lucy Boyce, the daughter of James P. Boyce, the seminary’s first president. The building was named in honor of Boyce and in recognition of the seminary’s one hundredth anniversary.
On November 10 of 1959, staff and students began the laborious task of moving all library books from Norton Hall into the newly furnished multi-story edifice. It received its official dedication on March 10, 1960, following an inaugural address in Alumni Chapel by librarian Leo T. Crismon tracing the history of the seminary’s library from its early days in Greenville, South Carolina. The Billy Graham Room, located on the second floor, was also dedicated in 1960 to honor Graham’s evangelistic ministry through the J. Boone Aiken Foundation and a $50,000 gift by South Carolina alumni for the display of archival material related to the seminary’s founding faculty. The library completed a full renovation of its main floor in 2023 and converted most of its second floor into expanded classrooms in 2014.