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WKU Archives is your resource for all things WKU
Manuscripts Librarian, Jonathan Jeffrey, teaching in the Special Collections Library reading room.
Area history lovers learn about treasures from Logan County, KY, that are part of the collection of the Kentucky Library & Museum.
Special Collections Librarians attend the Kentucky Archives Institute in Frankfort
Spirit Basket workshop
During Civil War Days, area students explored the life of a soldier, practiced handwriting of the period, learned how to dance, and conversed with Josie Underwood, who recounted life in Civil War Bowling Green.
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| Collecting Kentucky, the Special Collections Library serves as a time capsule for Kentucky history. Learn more about the Civil War, World War II, Kentucky authors, Mammoth Cave, early university life, Kentucky ancestors, folklore, South Union Shakers and politics. |
History of The Special Collections Library
The Kentucky Building was established by Western Kentucky University's first President, Henry Hardin Cherry "to preserve Kentucky's history and heritage." Over 4,000 Kentuckians provided financial support to begin construction of the Kentucky Building in 1931. After a temporary delay caused by the difficulties of the Depression, the facility opened in 1939 as a permanent home for the growing collection of Kentucky materials and artifacts. In 1976, a three-year, two-million-dollar renovation and expansion project began to provide more room for the thousands of books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, museum artifacts, genealogical material, audiotapes and videotapes housed in the Special Collections Library (formerly Kentucky Live) and the now independent Kentucky Museum; the building formally reopened on July 4, 1980.
The Special Collections Library includes Manuscripts and Folklife Archives and University Archives. These areas contain thousands of rare books, maps, photographs, genealogical materials, unpublished letters, journals, and family and political papers. The library, in partnership with the museum in the Kentucky Building, provides researchers, scholars, and visitors with a broad-based overview of Kentucky's history, culture, and people.
