NC ECHO’s goal is to increase access to special collections materials held in North Carolina’s cultural heritage institutions. The first step in striving toward this goal was to locate these special collections materials. In 2001, NC ECHO set out to identify every archive, museum, library special collection, historic site or other institution in the state that holds a permanent, non-living special collection that is open to the public. Through this process NC ECHO has discovered over 950 cultural heritage institutions in North Carolina. A searchable directory of these institutions is available.

Using this information, NC ECHO staff spent five years traveling the state conducting a survey site visit at each of the identified institutions. On these survey visits, staff met cultural heritage caretakers, discussed institutions’ accomplishments and challenges, viewed collections, took photographs, and conducted a formal Survey of North Carolina Cultural Repositories which provides a detailed statistical and also opinion based needs assessment of each identified institution. Data from this survey has been compiled for the NC ECHO Final Report. An illustrated Final Report Summary Booklet is also available.

While the official survey of institutions is complete, new institutions are always opening in North Carolina and NC ECHO maintains a commitment to keeping an updated database of current cultural heritage institutions.