Gary Treadway honored his parents, the late Olin and Marilyn Setzer Treadway (above), with a planned gift to support the growth and care of library collections at Carolina. (Submitted photo.)
As children of the Great Depression, Gary Treadway’s parents were enamored with the free access to books at the Elliott-Carnegie Library in Hickory, North Carolina.
“My father told me the story of the first time he walked into that library,” Treadway said. “He had no idea what to do, and a really nice librarian came up to him with a James Fenimore Cooper novel, and said, ‘I think you might enjoy this.’ That hooked him. He and my mother would just haunt the library there.”
Treadway ’72, ’75 (MSLS) inherited his parents’ love of reading and libraries. When he was a child, his mother read him stories until he could recite them by heart, and he would instantly correct her if she missed a word. Family trips to Hickory’s library were frequent and still evoke warm memories for Treadway when he visits his hometown.
Treadway himself became a fixture at libraries throughout his life, perhaps even more than his parents could have imagined in his early years. After completing his master’s degree in library science at Carolina, he worked as a librarian for more than 40 years, including almost 34 at the University of Virginia.
Treadway is now honoring his parents, Olin and Marilyn Setzer Treadway, with a planned gift to the UNC University Library. When realized, the gift will create endowment funds to support the growth and care of library collections at Carolina.
“Gary’s story illustrates the power of libraries to open doors and shape lives,” said Vice Provost for University Libraries and University Librarian María R. Estorino. “His generous gift brings that experience full-circle, making it possible for future generations of Tar Heels to learn, discover and create here at Carolina’s libraries.”
When Treadway came to Carolina as a first-generation college student in 1968, it didn’t take him long to find Wilson Library. “I loved the reading room,” he said. “When I first walked under that dome, I thought, ‘Now, this is what a library is supposed to look like.’”
Treadway soon landed a job there shelving books, which led him to think about a career as a librarian. After earning his undergraduate degree in history, he worked full time at Wilson for a year. That experience solidified his interest in the career and led to his master’s degree.
The reading room at Wilson Library, where Gary Treadway worked as an undergraduate student. (Photograph by Jeyhoun Allebaugh/UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Treadway’s first job after graduate school was at the University of South Carolina in the reference department and supervising three stack levels that held the social science and humanities collections. After seven years at USC, a colleague encouraged Treadway to apply for an opening at the University of Virginia.
“The position was North American bibliographer,” he said. “I was in charge of selecting materials in the social sciences and humanities published in the United States and Canada. It was a lot of responsibility, it was intellectually challenging, and it had good budget support. So it really was a dream job for me.”
Over almost 34 years at UVA, Treadway’s work came to focus on history and political science, as well as bibliographic instruction with students. “It was tailored to my love of libraries and their collections,” he said. “I feel very fortunate to have had a career that was so rewarding for me.”
Treadway, who retired in 2015, is a member of Carolina’s Friends of the Library and noticed an ad in its membership magazine, Windows, about gifts through estate planning.
“I was aware that was a way you could give, but that ad really propelled me to get off the dime and do something,” Treadway said.
“It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling to make this gift,” he added. “I had thought about it for a long time and then finally took the step of doing it. It makes me feel proud that my parents’ names will live on through this gift, and that it will support faculty and students into the future.”
Story by Drew Guiteras, University Development
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