The Health Sciences Library has evolved from a donation of three medical books in 1801, the gift of Major General Calvin Jones, an early North Carolina physician, to a print and electronic collection of more than 315,000 titles available across campus and throughout the state.

The Health Sciences Library is the physical, digital, and collaborative hub of the health affairs campus. The Health Sciences Library serves five health affairs schools, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health, as well as the UNC Hospitals, the bioinformatics center, and various biomedical and life sciences undergraduate and graduate curriculums. Every health affairs student graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill uses the Health Sciences Library and its resources.

The library's role in management of health knowledge is more vital in today's information economy than ever before. The Health Sciences Library is so much more than the physical building and reaches far beyond the campus. Increased access to health knowledge through far-reaching projects such as the AHEC Digital Library and consumer health information enhance the work of practitioners and the health of citizens throughout the state. Librarians play a key role in educating researchers, students, faculty, and the public on how to effectively find and use the most reliable health information.

Built in the1950s and expanded more than 20 years ago, the library's renovation is scheduled for completion in June 2004.. Without adding any physical space, the library will increase its capacity to house a growing print collection, add a history of the health sciences suite, and expand its electronic and digital infrastructure to support tomorrow's "library without walls". The renovated library will contain greater space for collaboration, innovation, and education, with teleconferencing facilities, group study rooms, and state of the art technology. The renovation will help expand the library's traditional strength of health knowledge management to make a greater impact in health education and health care.