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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Purchase Order: Hoover Brothers and Northwestern Typewriter Company
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white fourteen page document features a purchase order for library equipment from Hoover Brothers, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri, and Northwestern Typewriter Company of Hays.
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Purchase Order: Kersting Manufacturing Company
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase order for library equipment from Kersting Manufacturing Company in Alhambra, California.
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Purchase Order: Library Entrance Mats
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase order for mats for the library entrances.
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Purchase Order: Library Equipment
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase order for library equipment.
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Purchase Order: Library Equipment
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase order for library equipment.
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Purchase Order: Library Equipment
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white twelve page document features a purchase order for library equipment.
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Purchase Order: Mobile Audio-Visual Center
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase order for library mobile audio-visual center.
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Purchase Order: Remington Rand Office Systems Library Bureau
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This color three page document features a purchase order for library equipment from Remington Rand Office Systems Library Bureau of Kansas City, Missouri.
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Purchase Requisition: High Plains Insurance
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase requisition for coverage from High Plains Insurance, Inc. for Forsyth Library.
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Purchase Requisition: Library Construction
Purchasing Division, State of Kansas Department of Administration
This black and white one page document features a purchase requisition for equipment related to construction of the new library building at Forsyth Library.