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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List of Items in the Library Cornerstone
Kansas State Teachers College of Hays
This color one page document features a list of items placed in the cornerstone laid at the Forsyth Library Dedication on July 10, 1928.
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Library Corner Stone Laying Program
Kansas State Teachers College of Hays
This black and white one page document features a program from the January 20, 1926 cornerstone laying at Forsyth Library.
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Letter from Brigadier General Lutz Wahl to Ben Hibbs
Lutz Wahl
This black and white one page document features a letter from Brigadier General Lutz Wahl of the United States War Department to Ben Hibbs, Director of Publicity of the Kansas State Teachers College for Hays, Kansas, regarding biographical information for Colonel George Alexander Forsyth. Forsyth Library was named after Colonel Forsyth.