An important part of the answer, as with so many questions involving North Carolina's literary history, revolves around Thomas Wolfe.

When he died in 1938, Wolfe was one of the most famous and inspiring novelists in America. His prose fueled the literary dreams of many budding authors, including a young New Yorker named Lawrence Ferlinghetti. To channel Wolfe's vibe, Ferlinghetti enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill, from which he graduated in 1941.

Ferlinghetti would go on to become a central figure in American letters, a celebrated poet whose works included the million-seller "A Coney Island of the Mind" (1958), the owner of San Francisco's envelope-pushing bookshop and publishing house City Lights, and a friend to just about every Beat and avant-garde writer.

Fast forward to 2001, when Ferlinghetti's bibliographer, Bill Morgan, realized his New York City apartment could no longer hold his extensive materials by and about the poet.

"I thought UNC would be a good home because he feels a kinship with the school," Morgan said. "And they were very interested in having stuff from one of their biggest writers."

In a stroke of luck, Morgan was also Ginsberg's archivist and biographer. In 2002, he sold and donated about 4,000 items from his Ginsberg collection to the school.

Today, those materials form the backbone of a collection that includes more than 10,000 items available for public use.