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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Volumes in the Library as of July 1, 1967
Forsyth Library, Fort Hays Kansas State College
This black and white one page document features a handwritten note detailing how many volumes are in Forsyth Library and the current and proposed shelving capacity of the new library building.
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Forsyth Library Dedication Program
Fort Hays Kansas State College
This color four page document features a program from the October 21, 1967, dedication of the new Forsyth Library building.
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Graves Truck Line Shipping Invoice
Graves Truck Line Inc.
This color one page document features an invoice from Graves Truck Line Inc. of Salina, Kansas, for shipping costs associated with a delivery of library equipment to Forsyth Library.
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Forsyth Library at FHS 'On The Move'
Hays Daily News
This black and white one page document features a clipping from the Hays Daily News regarding moving Forsyth Library from the old building to the new building.
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Hoover Brothers, Incorporated Invoice
Hoover Brothers, Inc.
This color four page document features an invoice for library equipment from Hoover Brothers, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri. Blue ink is printed on the paper.
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Hoover Brothers Invoice
Hoover Brothers, Inc.
This color two page document features an invoice for library equipment from Hoover Brothers, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri. Blue ink is printed on the paper.
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Kersting Manufacturing Company Invoice
Kersting Manufacturing Company
This color one page document features an invoice for library equipment from Kersting Manufacturing Company of Alhambra, California.
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Lawrence Metal Products Invoice
Lawrence Metal Products, Inc.
This color one page document features an invoice for library equipment from Lawrence Metal Products, Inc. of Lynbrook, New York.
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Library Bureau Invoice
Library Bureau
This color one page document features an invoice from Library Bureau for Forsyth Library equipment.
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Letter from Travis Wm. Miller to Dr. M.C. Cunningham Regarding Equipment Contracts for the New Forsyth Library
Travis Wm. Miller
This black and white three page document features a letter from Travis William Miller, Assistant Regional Administrator for Metropolitan Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to Dr. Morton C. Cunningham, president of Fort Hays Kansas State College, regarding the award of equipment contracts for the new library building for Forsyth Library.