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The Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library is located in the University of Georgia's historic North Campus. The library is open to students and Faculty of the University of Georgia (UGA) as well as the public. It is UGA's Main Library. The library is named in honor of the memories of Mrs. Ilah Dunlap Little, her husband John D. Little, her father Samuel Scott Dunlap, her brother Samuel Scott Dunlap, Jr. and her first husband Leonidas A. Jordan. Mr. and Mrs. Little left their entire estate to the University of Georgia Libraries for the creation of a new library building. The library is located across the lawn from the University's Old College and is between Peabody Hall and UGA's Law School.

The Front Entrance of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library

The Front Entrance of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library

The original entrance of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library. 1953.

The original entrance of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library. 1953.

Ilah Dunlap was born in Macon, Georgia, on February 9, 1873. Her father owned a large plantation in Macon and ran a wholesale hardware business in Middle and South Georgia. Ilah went on to marry Leonidas Jordan, but was widowed only a few years later. She later married Atlanta lawyer, John Dozier Little in 19061. Her will provided money for a memorial library that would honor her and her husband John D. Little, her father Samuel Scott Dunlap, her brother Samuel Scott Dunlap, Jr. and her first husband Leonidas A. Jordan.

Her will provided a large sum of money for the building of a memorial library. She wanted her family portraits and certain items of furniture to be placed in the library, but these were placed in the Lustrat House, on the University of Georgia’s campus, after it was decided it was a better site for her personal items2.

The Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library opened and was dedicated in 1953, nearly 14 years after her death in 1939. The building constructed was 146,900 square feet with room for 70,000 volumes. It was built with the help of state funding as well as the funds provided by Ilah Dunlap Little. The library has since added on to the original structure, in 1974 a 209,206 square foot annex was constructed on the back of the Main Library, more than doubling the building’s capacity3. The building's interior was recently updated in 2012. 

1Account book for the estate of Ilah Dunlap Little. MS 3357. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The
University of Georgia Libraries.

2Ilah Dunlap Little materials, MS 3677. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the University of Georgia 
Libraries.

3A Timeline of the University of Georgia Libraries. University Libraries University of Georgia. . Accessed April 23, 2018. https://www.libs.uga.edu/history.