"A recent gift of $2.4 million will allow the Southern Miss libraries to keep up with technology and trends. The money comes from the sale of land donated in 2002 by Mary and Joseph "Chip" Tatum Jr. of Hattiesburg. Mary Sutherland Tatum is a 1974 Southern Miss graduate with a lifelong interest in libraries. Chip Tatum, a real estate developer, is from a Hattiesburg family that made its fortune in lumber at the turn of the century....The gift will be an endowment with flexibility in choosing how to use the available funds."