‘Cover to Cover’ Exhibit Spins Stories of Vinyl, Culture, and Gardner-Webb Campus History

Dover Library’s Vintage Album Display Explores Lasting Impact of Sound and Storytelling

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—A new exhibit at Dover Library displays how music connects musicians and fans and impacts history and culture. “Cover to Cover: Vintage Vinyl Stories” will run continuously through July 2026, with updates and rotating features on artists and album covers. The presentation, which is located on the main and upper levels of the library, highlights both the technology of vinyl and the influence of music from the 1970s with a few outliers from the ’60s and ’80s.

The idea for the presentation came when Dean of the Library Dr. Natalie Edwards Bishop and Interlibrary Loan Coordinator Kevin Bridges started looking through the library’s LP collection. The majority of the collection is classical and opera. “It was originally purchased by the library, or accepted as gifts to the library, to support the music department,” Bishop stated. “While our current music majors listen to digital music for class, before the internet our students were limited to listening to music provided by the library. This was a pretty common practice up through the 2000s.”

As they were trying to decide what to do with this massive collection, Bishop and Bridges were surprised to stumble across some vinyl gems. Music enthusiasts, each has a personal music library and knows the stories behind the artists and their influence on culture. “We started batting around an idea of how we can take the library’s collection and share it with people in a creative way,” Bishop noted. “We also brought in some of our own favorites.”

In addition to displaying album covers from the collection, they also wanted to highlight how the progression of the music industry intersects with GWU’s history. In the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, and even into the early ’90s, Gardner-Webb hosted notable musicians and bands. During the singer-songwriter movement in the ’70s, performers like Earl Scruggs, Johnny Cash, Rick Nelson, James Taylor and Jim Croce came to GWU and played at other colleges across the country. Gardner-Webb also hosted groups like Nantucket, Pure Prairie League, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Earth, Wind and Fire, and The Hooters.

The exhibit will feature a display on how the technology for listening to music has evolved—from vinyl to cassette and 8-track, then CD, iPod and digital downloads to streaming. A record player is available for people to operate and listen to some albums.

In addition to herself and Bridges, Bishop asked other music aficionados on the GWU faculty and staff to write descriptions for the posters that included their personal reflections, along with historical contexts, and the social and cultural impacts of the album and the music. Included on some posters are the liner notes, because that was an important tool that connected fans to the artists. Bishop reflected on her own experience, “You would get your album and you would put it in your player, whatever type of player it was, and like, for several nights of the week, you’d sit there and listen to the music and just read everything.”

Later this fall, “The Vinyl Experience” podcast series will launch as a companion to Dover Library’s exhibit, “Cover to Cover: Vintage Vinyl Stories.” The series will explore the cultural, technological, and nostalgic power of vinyl records. Together, the exhibit and podcast invite audiences to rediscover the artistry, storytelling, and timeless appeal of music pressed on vinyl.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Learn more at Gardner-Webb.edu.