This is an archival post originally published on October 5, 2016.
Update December 2021: The UNC T-Shirt Archive has moved. It’s now available at https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/unctshirts.
If you have a favorite Carolina t-shirt or even a closetful of them, the archivists at UNC’s Wilson Library have a message for you: Don’t just wear it, share it.
The UNC University Archives has launched an online UNC T-Shirt Archive that archivists hope will capture a fun and meaningful facet of campus life.
“Who doesn’t have a t-shirt and a story to go with it?” said University Archivist Nick Graham. “T-shirts are a comfortable and familiar way for students to express themselves. Years from now, we hope this archive will provide a one-of-a-kind window into life at Carolina.”
Graham emphasizes that the t-shirt archive seeks only photographs of t-shirts, not the actual items. There are three ways to contribute:
- Visit
unctshirtarchive.tumblr.comhttps://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/unctshirts to learn about the projectand upload a photograph of your t-shirt - Wear or bring your t-shirt to T-Shirt Archive Day at the R.B. House Undergraduate Library on Wednesday, Oct. 26, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. A professional photographer will be on hand to photograph your t-shirt for posterity
- Share on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MyUNCTShirt. If it’s a t-shirt not yet in the collection, an archivist will reach out to you
All kinds of t-shirts are welcome, as long as they are “meaningful to you and related to UNC,” said Graham. Early submissions include t-shirts related to athletics, Greek life, protests, programs, clubs, dorm life, and a certain famed basketball rivalry.
Graham says he knows of no other university that has launched a similar campus-focused project. However, he and his colleagues were inspired by the site Wearing Gay History , an online collection of LGBTQ-themed t-shirts that began at George Mason University in 2014.
The UNC T-Shirt Archive received start-up funding through the Student Library Advisory Board.
“We really want to capture the full range of what it has meant to be a member of the Carolina community over the last fifty or so years,” said Graham.
