In 1926 a new building was built specifically for the library and it was named “Forsyth” after Brevet Brigadier General George Alexander Forsyth. General Forsyth had been stationed at Fort Hays in the 1880s. When the library was dedicated on July 10, 1928, Forsyth Library contained 14,000 volumes. This collection sustained major damage when the flood of May 1951 flooded the first floor of the library with 16 inches of water. When the library moved to its present location the original building was renamed and still stands as McCartney Hall.
The present building was completed in 1967 at a cost of $1,192,321, with one-third of the funds supplied by the Federal Government. It encompassed 105,414 square feet with an unfinished basement, two floors, and a structural capacity for a future third floor. The basement level of the building was finished at a cost of $384,000 in 1974.
In 2017 Forsyth Library housed 506,746 volumes in the physical collection as well as 279,866 electronic books available online.
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Fort Hays Kansas State College Forsyth Library Leaflet - No. 7
Forsyth Library, Fort Hays Kansas State College
An informational brochure giving instruction on how to use the government documents department at Forsyth Library.
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Fort Hays Kansas State College Forsyth Library Leaflet - No. 8
Forsyth Library, Fort Hays Kansas State College
An informational brochure giving instruction on how to use the reference department at Forsyth Library.
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Fort Hays Kansas State College Forsyth Library Leaflet - No. 9
Forsyth Library, Fort Hays Kansas State College
An informational brochure giving instruction on how to use a bibliography.
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Letter from Whitley Austin to Claude Bradley regarding construction of a new building for Forsyth Library
Whitley Austin
A letter from Whitley Austin to Claude Bradley regarding construction of a new building for Forsyth Library.
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Letter from Melvin J. Voigt and Robert L. Talmadge to Dr. M.C. Cunningham recommending construction of a new library
Melvin J. Voigt and Robert L. Talmadge
A letter from Melvin J. Voigt, Director of the Kansas State University Library, and Robert L. Talmadge, Acting Director of the University of Kansas Library, to Dr. Morton C. Cunningham, President of Fort Hays Kansas State College, recommending construction of a new library building for Forsyth Library.
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Proposed library addition plans
Fort Hays Kansas State College
A document with a proposed addition to the Forsyth Library building (now McCartney Hall).
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Copies of programs found on a trowel in the Fort Hays Kansas State College Museum
Dollie Thomas
A document containing copies of programs relating to the January 20, 1926 cornerstone laying at Forsyth Library.
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Photometric Survey of the Fort Hays Kansas State College Library Reading Room
Harvey A. Zinszer
A document detailing the findings of a photometric survey conducted in the Fort Hays Kansas State College Reading Room.
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Kansas State Teachers College Public Service Vol. X No. 7
Kansas State Teachers College of Hays
A copy of the Kansas State Teachers College Public Service Vol. X No. 7 from July 15, 1929 containing an article detailing the facilities at Forsyth Library
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Forsyth Library Dedication program
Kansas State Teachers College of Hays
The program for the Forsyth Library Dedication and Science Hall Cornerstone Placing on July 10, 1928. The building dedicated was renamed McCartney Hall when Forsyth Library moved to its new location in 1967.